Mormon Murder Mysteries and Messed Marriages
by Troy Williams & Maggie St. Claire
Brigham City
Starring Richard Dutcher, Mathew A. Fox and Wilford Brimley
Written and Directed by Richard Dutcher

Oh, we've got trouble! Right here in Brigham City! Fans of last year's runaway Mormon hit God's Army are going to have a grand weekend. On April 6, not only will believing Mormons be celebrating the Lord's birthday -- they'll also be queuing up to catch Brigham City -- the second feature from LDS film auteur Richard Dutcher. Film director D.W. Griffith (Birth of a Nation, Intolerance) is often referred to as "the father of modern cinema" -- Brother Dutcher will no doubt go down in the annals of art history as the veritable father of "Mormon Cinema" -- and he'll deserve it. And though Dutcher's films suffer from the same didacticism and over-sentimentality that plagues most Mormo-Art -- I'm happy that he is gutsy enough to keep pushing Mormonism into the mainstream. Stick with me and I'll explain why!

Brigham City tells the story of the idyllic Utah town of the same name. Nothing bad ever happens in this little model of Zion. Folks don't lock doors, everybody knows everybody, most are active faithful Mormons (except for the Jack-Mo's in the bar) and all is well, all is well. That is, until an inept murderer kills a redhead and leaves her car in plain sight for Sheriff Wes Clayton (Dutcher) to find.

Clayton (no apparent relation to famous Mormon songwriter William Clayton) is an idealist who fears the encroachment of "the world" on his peaceful utopia. He is also the ward bishop. His ever-faithful sidekick (God's Army star Matthew A. Brown) is the action-starved Deputy Terry Woodruff (no apparent relation to famous Mormon prophet Wilford Woodruff) and screen veteran Wilford Brimley (also no relation to Woodruff) is the cantankerous retired Sheriff, Stu. Bishop Clayton passes the investigation off on the FBI agent, Meredith Cole (Tayva Patch), who is, incidentally, the movie's token gentile. But Clayton's suspicions that this is only an out-of-town murder quickly escalate to paranoia as other young Brigham beauties start turning up dead.

Who could the villain be? Is it the beefy construction worker? The inactive bartender? The closet porn addict? The 12th Ward's Laurel President? Who?! Suspicion and backbiting abound in Bishop Clayton's ward (hey, what else is new?) as the entire town puts their collective shoulders to the wheel to solve the mystery.

Dutcher, in the words of the movie's Sunday School teacher, is asking, "Do we have to lose our innocence to gain wisdom?" The movie's theme really exploits the separation that Latter-day Saints desire from "The World" -- and the fear that the ugliness associated with "them" will soon creep in and affect "us". It's delightfully pious and self-righteous and Dutcher milks it for all it's worth. But that's fine. You've got to have conflict to make a story interesting, even though I think it's ideologically suspect. I squirmed in my chair at stereotypical depictions of "sinners" and outsiders as threats. For example, the cops go undercover at a local dive bar to search for clues to capture the murderer. Well of course, if somebody is a cold-blooded killer, then he must be breaking the World of Wisdom too! But perhaps this is really me squirming, because Dutcher has effectively captured the narrow-mindedness and fear that many na=EFve Utahns display toward anything that is ostensibly "other."

And my other criticism -- which no doubt many will view as a strength -- is that the movie positively oozes Mormonism out of every cell. And not the everyday variety around Salt Lake -- but the super-charged turbo-Mormonism communicable in any Utah County enclave. When things heat up, Clayton, in his dual capacity of sheriff and bishop, sends the Aaronic Priesthood out door to door to mobilize the town against the killer. It's hard to hold back a giggle at the sight of 12-year-olds doing police work. But it doesn't stop there -- to track down a missing ward member, the Bishop gathers all the townsmen and pairs them off in missionary style companionships to go tracting for the abductee!

And of course, Clayton, in the midst of the city's crisis, takes a moment to bear his testimony of the restored Gospel to the gentile FBI Agent. But it all comes off as goofy and disingenuous. This is the kind of problem endemic of much gay-oriented cinema -- where the gayness of a particular character (or characters) is all they are about. In this case -- all we are bombarded with is the total Mormoness of each character. It's a bit much. As Mormon Cinema (and hopefully Dutcher himself) evolves, this excessiveness should become less of a problem.

Now don't think I'm just about dissing the movie. I'm really thrilled that Dutcher is making Mormocentric pictures. He is a competent filmmaker who knows how to weave an interesting tale. The Saints are going to positively gush over this flick -- and with some good reason. The cinematography from Ken Glassing is beautiful. Brimley is fun. The editing is sharp. And Dutcher does have a surprise twist or two that he pulls out to shock the audience (including a little Silence of the Lambs trick that totally caught me off guard). I want Brigham City to be successful so that Dutcher can be a Blazer for others to follow. Dutcher is sort of the Frank Capra of Mormon Cinema. That's cool. I just can't wait for the David Lynch, Kevin Smith and John Waters of Mormon Cinema to finally hit the scene! Now that will give us all a reason to get hie to Kolob!

Brigham City is rated PG-13 for mild violence -- but CleanFlicks in Utah County will happily edit your VHS copy when it is inevitably released on video.