J. Scott Bronson wrote:

> I do wonder, though, why the last shot was one of her
> going out the door of the chapel.

She knew that she didn't belong there. At the end, she was there -- not for any detached, sterile reason -- but because she actually had some kind of affection for the sheriff and wanted to see how he was going to move on with his life. As the scene progresses she realizes that there can be no cool observation of this event, that something profound and very private is happening, and that she simply doesn't belong.

I'm new to the list. Marji from Seattle. I've been listening in for a while and reading the archives. Hello to a few familiar "faces."

I wrote a (casual) review in April for Brigham City that I'll share below. Just a comment on the FBI agent leaving from the sacrament meeting. My take was that she had "felt" something in a way she couldn't define. Between the time of the "first sacrament meeting" and the conclusion of the movie, the people, the sheriff, the off-the-beaten-track experience of a small Mormon town so different from her own experiences, the tragedies had moved her (iow, "she realizes that there can be no cool observation of this event" due to her own emotional responses). I think the moment "of decision" when she walks out was more about how she was going to move on with her life, than about wanting to see how the sheriff was going to move on with his life. If the tray had reached her, she would have had to make a choice whether or not to partake. The first time the tray passed her, that was a simple choice. But the events which transpired had challenged her existing paradigm(s). By leaving, that inner change was left hanging, neither confirmed nor denied. Symbolically, the FBI agent represented the "good people of the world," in my opinion.

So without further ado, here is my little unedited review, with the disclaimer that it was written for an egroup, not a literary gathering such as AML. Nice to meet you all.

Sharon wrote:

Do you know any one who's seen Brigham City? I think I'm the biggest critic I've heard of yet. Still, in spite of the violence -- too much! and I believe unnecessary - it was a good movie.

Dear Sharon,

We saw it. Of course, you know I am a Dutcher fan, and yes, I did like it.

I thought a lot about it, too. I think that with the movie Brigham City, Dutcher has created a morality play, full of symbolism. Some of the reviews I've read picked up on that, but others have not. The most critical reviews I've seen are from LDS reviewers, who focused their criticism too much, I think, on the portrayal of the Church in action. I'd like to give a better thought-out answer to your query, but here goes:

The Church and the people of the church in the movie represent "good". This is part and parcel of the message Dutcher is portraying to the world.

The "serpent" in "Paradise" represents evil -- great evil. And the reason that evil seems so shocking to us is that it happens to people we "know," the folks down the street who go to the other ward, the funny, idiosyncratic, silly, bothersome, precious, headstrong folks we meet at church on Sunday and at Stake Conference. Thus, when evil stalks "among us," it strikes so close to home we are uncomfortable with it. We relate to these people and their suffering. It is not sanitized suffering, or sanitized murder like on TV. We know those plots are fictitious, and that the good guys will win, and that the bad guys deserve to lose. When murder happens so close to home, to people we can emphasize with, then the emotional impact is the greater.

The film's effective use of our own imaginations is what makes the horrible events seem so horrible. The portrayal, in absolute terms, was fairly benign. But because so few details were actually shown on screen, our minds make up the differences, and there is nothing so horrific to us as our own worst fears.

Dutcher doesn't make it easy for the good guys to win in this show. Although the good guys do win, it is with considerable personal sacrifice, struggle, betrayal, and suffering. In the end, when the line is drawn, only raw courage and single-minded devotion to the good of the community can overcome the serpent. To overcome the serpent, the sheriff has to "fall" from grace (lose his innocence, leave Eden) in order to precipitate the eventual "redemption" of the town.

The suspicion that permeates the show is powerful. For the first time in their lives, the people of the town are living in literal fear for their lives. As a hint to one of the symbols in the film, think of that sense of fear in a spiritual sense, rather than the real physical threat to life that it was. How high are the stakes in the battle against spiritual danger? To what ends will we go to preserve our children or our friends from spiritual destruction and drive evil away?

I liked the portrayal of the church. Hey, if we can't find people who will come to church with us, let's take the church to them. The conversation on the porch with the FBI agent was Dutcher at his best, sharing his personal convictions for all the world to see. I had no problem at all with the ordinances being shown on the screen, although I have seen a few negative comments on this. The baptism was not performed by a man holding the priesthood, so what is the problem? Show folks what we believe, I say!

Dutcher has described the movie as a portrayal of the "loss of innocence." In that portrayal, we see the very real and insidious nature of "evil among us," the wolf in sheep's clothes.

I think there could have been more dialogue which would have shown up the inner conflict and turmoil of the Sheriff, due to his personal tragedies, his utter commitment to safeguard his idyllic town, his anguish, and sense of helplessness against the onslaught of crime. A more thorough development of his character throughout the film, I think would have elucidated more clearly many of the emotions so well portrayed in the last scenes.

This is a film that parents will want to talk about with their children if they choose to take them. We took our two oldest to see the movie. At issue are the significant themes of life, death, atonement, forgiveness, mercy, guilt, integrity, faith, honesty, friendship, duty, loyalty, and above all, the consequences of comparatively minor choices which lead to paths from which we inexorably cannot return.

Thank you, Dutcher! You've done it again. And this time, you made us think even more.

Courage!
Marji
www.SchoolofAbraham.com

P.S. I have notes from a Dutcher fireside two years ago that give some interesting background, if anyone is interested.