Movie Review for September Dawn (2007)

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Review #514 of 365
Movie Review of September Dawn (2007) [R] 110 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $11.50
Where Viewed: United Artists Colorado Center 9 & IMAX, Denver, CO
When 1st Seen: 28 August 2007
Time: 1:15 pm
DVD Release Date: 1 January 2008 (click date to purchase or pre-order)
Film's Official Website • Film's Trailer

Soundtrack: order the CD below

Directed by: Christopher Cain (PC and the Web)
Written by: Christopher Cain (Sixth and Main) • Carole Whang Schutter (debut)

Featured Cast (Where You Might Remember Him/Her From):
Jon Voight (Bratz: The Movie) • Trent Ford ("The Class") • Tamara Hope ("Whistler") • Jon Gries (The Astronaut Farmer) • Taylor Handley (Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning) • Huntley Ritter (We Are Marshall) • Krisinda Cain (Firedog) • Shaun Johnston (The Mermaid Chair) • Lolita Davidovich (Hollywood Homicide) • Dean Cain ("Las Vegas") • Terence Stamp (Elektra )

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September Dawn is a difficult film to critique, not just because films in general are challenging to dissect and analyze as they are complicated pieces of art where everything from the lighting to an annoying accent of one character can make or break the entire film for some people, but because the film is of the historical 'inspired by actual events' genre (which is automatically dangerous), and it has for a plot utilized some of the events from a particularly gruesome moment in the acknowledged history of one of the USA's many misunderstood religious groups, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints known as the Mormons. Meanwhile, there are two primary uses for film critiques. Some readers use them to decide whether or not to see a film, and others use them after to answer questions, clarify their thoughts, and see what others said about a film. Therefore, film critics have a tough job in cases of films like these, especially in a world where people many people are working harder and harder to be inclusive, understanding, and culturally literate against the grain of others who believe that what they call "political correctness" is nothing more than a decrease in standards. In other words, you are bound to upset a huge number of people if you come out in favor of such a film or against it. Likewise, there is concern that anything one might say about the subplot or the acting, etc. could be misconstrued as general support for the film even if it is boldly historically inaccurate. In fact, such might even cause some very famous critic to vastly over-zing a film to ensure that no one thinks he or she liked any par of it giving it 0 stars while earlier this month raving about the brilliance of Superbad, for example.

So, taking all these risks into account, I began by doing what any person who knows nothing about the history of an actual event should do before reviewing a movie on the topic. I read the history from the source. I was encouraged by the honesty of the accounting provided by Church historian, Richard E. Turley Jr., Managing Director, Family and Church History Department for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) in his September 2007 article entitled, "The Mountain Meadows Massacre" available online. Clearly, the writers of September Dawn, Christopher Cain and Carole Whang Schutter, did do some research. There is much overlap between the Turley accounting and the film's plot. As is very nearly the case with every non-documentary film that has ever been made, there is also great theatrical liberty taken on the part of the filmmakers, hence the choice of words "inspired by". The biggest point of contention with the Church history and the film's portrayal of the history is whether the highest-ranking Church elders sanctioned the massacre or not. The facts surrounding this will never be known with absolute certainty. Given the distances between Salt Lake City and Cedar City in 1857 and the lack of expeditious communications, it is easy to understand, however, that miscommunications, as Turley points out time and again, played a large role in the way the events played out. There is no denial that this massacre was an atrocity that never should have happened. The film's stance seems to indicate that the highest-ranking Church elders did authorize the events, but it is careful in to indicate that the Church elders were not necessarily given the accurate information prior to making their decision. If they did make the decision, they may have made it on faulty intelligence brought to them by people with ulterior motives or misinformation themselves. The most important part of the film in this light though, and why it should not be dismissed or given 0 stars, surrounds its portrayal of the dangers that arise when any person or group of people take it upon themselves to act with permanence on their own beliefs, misunderstandings, and hatred toward others who are different. It doesn't matter if the people are tying Matthew Shepard to a fence in the middle of Wyoming, rounding up and imprisoning citizens of one ethnic background, or setting a house of worship on fire--when certain people get it in their minds that their malicious and potentially deadly actions are justified, there are going to be consequences and ramifications that ultimately may force them to pay the ultimate price themselves. The film also should prove to people, however, that the actions of the few should not be used to indict the many. Both of these are lessons from which more USAers, universally, could benefit. It is easy to judge others, but harder to judge oneself. It is easier to default to justifications based on prejudices than to think rationally and to truly understand. The point, it seems, of September Dawn is to remind us all that we are in fact human beings, we do make huge even grave mistakes, and it never hurts us to be reminded of our collective capacity to do great evil in the name of sanctimony.

That research done and moral justification given, let's get to the actual film.

It begins with a large wagon train of approximately 120 emigrants enroute from Arkansas to California with a huge head of cattle and some magnificent Kentucky, race horses. Their plan, according to their leader, Captain Fancher (Shaun Johnston), was to stop in the Utah Territory for supplies and to graze their cattle before heading on to set up a horse racing business. They are met by six darkly-dressed riders who suggest there are no supplies for sale, even at top dollar, and they'd be best just keep moving onward toward their destination. When all hope of staying seems lost, the Bishop of the region, Jacob Samuelson (Jon Voight) and his two sons Jonathan (Trent Ford) and Micah (Taylor Handley) arrive by horse and buggy. After inspecting the group, the Bishop agrees to let them stay for two weeks for no charge in the meadow where they will be safe from attacks by local Indians. As they ride through the group for the inspection, Emily Hudson (Tamara Hope) catches Jonathan's eye and vice-versa. The quality and breeding of the horses, also catches Jonathan's eye and gives him additional motives to return the next day for a visit. Back home, Jacob instructs his sons to keep an eye on the strangers and to report back their every activity to him. There is also some chatter about how Jonathan needs a wife and how much better Micah is now that he has two.

The next day, Jacob has to leave town for a few days, so he puts Jonathan, as the eldest, in charge. He puts Micah in charge of watching Jonathan. With previous instructions to keep watch on the new comers as the perfect excuse, Jonathan rides out to the meadow where the emigrants have set up camp. He meets up with Capt. Fancher and they strike up a conversation about the horses. Down in camp, Jonathan sees an incredible horse tied up to a wagon and asks why this horse is tied up. It turns out the horse has been deemed incapable of being tamed due to temperament. He's been kept only as a sire as his breeding has been impeccable. Being somewhat of a horse whisperer, though, Jonathan immediately calms the horse and talks to him. This impresses Emily who has arrived to see what all the commotion is about. It is decided that the next day, Jonathan will return to ride the horse in a round corral built by Fancher's men. Meanwhile, there is sufficient foreshadowing about the grisly events to come with the character of Nancy Dunlap (Lolita Davidovich) among the most worried that things are not as they seem in the gorgeous mountain meadow. She's a gun-slinging, pants-wearing, spitfire of a single-parent mom, and she's done nothing but rub Jacob Samuelson the wrong way from the moment they met. As promised, Jonathan returns the next day to ride the horse, which he does and very successfully even jumping the horse over the fence and riding free across the meadow. When the ride is over, Captain Fancher gives Jonathan the horse saying it was love at first sight. Jonathan is bashfully cute about receiving the gift, and this only furthers the developing love between him and Emily.

But, the longer the emigrants stay, the more uncomfortable Jacob gets. Upon returning from his trip, he begins to lay the groundwork for an attack upon the emigrants. There are lots of scenes of him lecturing people about the best way to absolve people of their sins and spilling blood when necessary as the only way to purify the soul and send it on to God. Jon Voight does an excellent job of portraying Jacob as a man who has let his interpretation of faith and his power get the better of his sense of reason. Meanwhile, his two sons, also well portrayed, provide the foils: Micah as the one who blindly follows his father even as he might doubt the sanity of his actions and Jonathan as the one who stands up against his father failing to believe that the teachings of his religion would justify the slaughter of innocents. Once motivated to act, however, the wheels in the minds of previously good men begin to roll on a fanatic path for which there is little room for logic. Passion and commitment to the cause are all that matter. When Jonathan openly dissents in front of his father and the gathering of men about to set the attack plan in place, he is locked in chains to prevent him from warning the emigrants and the woman to whom he has now secretly betrothed himself, Emily. From the moment they meet, there is that dark specter of Romeo and Juliet in them--two, star-crossed young people from opposite worlds destined for tragedy. The plan as Jacob lays it out will be to convince the Paiutes that these emigrants were responsible for poisoning the corn of another tribe on their journey and that the Great Spirit would like to see them attack the settlers and reward themselves with the bounty of their livestock and horses. John D. Lee (Jon Gries), fluent in the Paiute language will present the plan to the Chief and convince him to send his braves to battle with the protection of the Great Spirit. This cowardly act of displacing the first battle onto the Paiutes is also open for historical debate. Nonetheless, in the film, the battle doesn't go so well for the Paiutes who face a tight wagon circle and sharpshooters. As braves die, the Chief calls for a retreat. As far as the emigrants know, the Paiutes are intent on massacring them. They never learn the truth that it is Jacob Samuelson's men behind their eventual horrific and shady demise until it is too late.

The writers embedded the emigrants with frailties and mistrust as well. One man in particular, Robert Humphries (Huntley Ritter), stirs up some anti-Mormon sentiments among the group, and he'll seemingly do anything to prevent Emily from consorting with Jonathan going so far as to suggest she should keep to her own kind. Through flashbacks, the film shows the assassination of one of the most important figures in the history of the Church, Joseph Smith (Dean Cain-son of the director and co-writer), and does a fair job of characterizing the anti-Mormon national sentiment that drove the Mormons westward in the first place. This serves as the underlying justification in Jacob Samuelson's mind for the massacre for it was Joseph Smith that found him and saved him and recognized his potential as a young man on the streets lost as to his purpose. Terrence Stamp appears very briefly in the film as Brigham Young. His performance is thoughtful and understated. Distilling away all of the historical issues and possible misinterpretations of the motives behind the film, it is possible to focus just on the ill-fated love story of Jonathan and Emily: he the son of the Mormon Bishop and she the daughter of Minister of some other Christian faith. Their love at first sight and short-term courtship demonstrate the power of young people to be able to set aside the differences of their upbringing for what really matters. They are both charming people with the brightness of a world without hate in their eyes.

Certainly, September Dawn will be met with much controversy. But, to attempt to squelch it and review it out of being seen or shown with vitriolic bad press and scathing one-liners would be a disservice to the film and the industry as a whole especially in a nation which was founded on principles of freedom of religion and freedom of speech. Rather, the film should be seen and judged on its own merits or lack there of. Analysis of the film should force the re-examination into why the Mormons were driven out of the Midwest, and why they came to be treated as second-class Christians in the first place. Ultimately, the film should, as previously mentioned, cause all people of all faiths to stop and consider the implications of having an over-zealous pre-occupation with prejudging others with contrary religious beliefs and imposing those judgments with possibly grave consequences. The production values and cinematography fall into the B to B- range. If you're hoping to see Utah on film, the film was shot in Alberta, Canada, so no luck there. The dialogue is adequate to the task, there's no reason to go overboard in its analysis either as if looking for reasons to lambaste the film. Overall, a great or brilliant film it is not sometimes having the look and feel of an 80s or early 90s made-for-television film before Cable revolutionized the possibilities. Nor is it the 0-star film some have made it out to be.

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Related Products from Amazon.com

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Other Projects Featuring September Dawn (2007)
Cast Members
Jon Voight • Trent Ford • Tamara Hope
Jon Gries • Taylor Handley • Huntley Ritter
Krisinda Cain • Shaun Johnston • Lolita Davidovich
Dean Cain
Director
Christopher Cain
Writers
Christopher Cain • Carole Whang Schutter

book	CD soundtrack	DVD
VHS

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Review-lite September Dawn (2007) [max of 150 words]

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September Dawn, directed by Christopher Cain and starring Jon Voight, Trent Ford, Shaun Johnston, and Tamara Hope presents a controversial look at what has come to be known as the Mountain Meadow Massacre in which approximately 120 emigrant men, women, and children on their way from Arkansas to California were slaughtered over a five day period just outside Cedar City in the Utah Territory in September of 1857 by the Mormon townspeople under the authority of the local Bishop, Jacob Samuelson. Controversy aside, the film has merit both in its ability to provoke conversation about the emergence of religious fanaticism in response to bigotry and discrimination and its notion that good men can be driven to do terrible things. Jon Voight gives a a powerful performance, and the sub-plot love story gives reason for hope even during times of grave despair.

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