LATTER DAY SAINTS FALL AFIELD

CHRISTIAN SECT FALLS SIDEWAYS THROUGH INTERPRETATION

By PETER THOMAS BUSCH

Director Courtney Hunt gradually weaves in the truth about the murder of a young mother and her infant child in the true crime drama about a Utah family of Latter Day Saints (LDS) in Under the Banner of Heaven (2022).

The shocking crime is revealed early but the director sends lead actor Andrew Garfield down a suspenseful path of discovery as Detective Jeb Pyre.

Pyre is a devout member of the Christian sect, so he has insight into the intentions of the LDS members and possible motives for killing their members.

These insights result in a script laid heavy with scripture and interpretation with the added twist of a mistrust in government, especially paying taxes and traffic tickets.

Hunt shows how the Latter Day Saints can work within the public, but they also share a unique intellect and vocabulary only understood among other Latter Day Saints.

The crime investigation is used as a narrative device for a discussion about interpretations of the Bible that define one form of Christian fundamentalism distinct from another form of Christian fundamentalism.

Garfield shows how Pyre had to restrain his outrage at the murders so as to relate to the suspected accused and thereby obtain further leads into the perpetrators of the crime.

Gil Birmingham shares screen time with Garfield as Detective Bill Taba.

Taba is a bit of an outsider having just joined the force in Utah from Las Vegas. Taba must take on the bad cop motif while Garfield plays the good cop with the same values as the LDS community.

Birmingham has a substantial recuring role as a Band Chief on the series Yellowstone (2018-2022), starring Kevin Costner and Kelly Reilly. The Band initially wants to take over Yellowstone Ranch, but then they find their corporate partners from New York a bit too unlike them for their liking.

The scenes moved forward swiftly with heavy dialogue while a light score smooths over any gaps.

Writer Dustin Black creates a layered narrative with a present, past and historical storylines.

Initially just the investigation compels the narrative but as Detectives Pyre and Taba begin to gather evidence, the backstory of the crime is filled in.

The investigation and the backstory do not quite make sense yet, so historical scenes are created that refer back to sect founder Brigham Young and the early struggle in America of the formation of the Utah Christians.

In this way, Hunt is able to weave facts together to uncover the truth.

Daisy Edgar-Jones as Brenda Lafferty plays the young victim who seems to have a short role since the murder is revealed in the first episodes. But then Hunt uses flash backs to a happier time and incrementally unravels Brenda’s early joy of marrying into a young LDS family.

Pyre uncovers that one family within the LDS community had become fanatical about anti-government activity and then that same fanaticism also led to fanaticism within the Christian sect.

Sam Worthington shows how the eldest son, Ron Lafferty, was slighted by his father for advancing himself outside the LDS community and succeeding in the construction industry.

Worthington seems miscast at first but then his physical dominance in the scenes makes sense when the serenity of the family falls by the wayside and he and his siblings take a different path than their father had intended for them.

Under the Banner of Heaven is a Hulu production streaming on Disney in Canada.