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Brigham City

2001, Movie, NR, 0 mins

Brigham City: Review

BRIGHAM CITY
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It's clear from the opening scene that this is no ordinary thriller: A middle-age man climbs out of bed, straps on his leg brace and holster, pins a badge to his uniform, then pores over the Book of Mormon. He's Wes Clayton (Richard Dutcher), sheriff of tiny Brigham, Utah, and one of that fictitious Mormon enclave's 17 bishops. And this is the latest offering from Zion Films, a company dedicated to bringing entertainment about the Mormon community to the screen. But while the film does center on issues of faith that will no doubt speak most directly to LDS members, it's also a tight and surprisingly effective murder mystery. Brigham may be feeling the effects of national prosperity, but Sheriff Clayton likes his hometown exactly the way it is: safe, squeaky clean and isolated from the outside world. The outside world, however, comes crashing in the day Clayton and his young deputy, Terry (Matthew A. Brown), discover the body of a murdered woman hidden in a barn. Clayton tries to convince himself that the murder has nothing to do with Brigham — after all, the victim was a stranger from California. But when the battered body of one of Brigham's own is found stuffed under the town gazebo, the situation becomes painfully clear: Brigham has its very own serial killer. Written and directed by Dutcher, the triple-threat auteur behind Zion's first feature, GOD'S ARMY, the film poses a fundamental question: Must we lose our innocence to gain wisdom? The answer on hand is a surprisingly downbeat one, and while Dutcher is no David Lynch, he presents a world in which festering psychosis underlies even the most idyllic communities. The film isn't without problems: Those who hold the Constitution sacred may find Wes's complete disregard for laws governing illegal searches and seizures a little hard to stomach, and it's a shame that the only character whose skin isn't a perky shade of pink should be presented as an automatic suspect. But on the whole, Dutcher has fashioned rare thing: A mystery that's filled with genuine sorrow and capped off with a denouement that may take even seasoned mystery buffs by surprise. leave a comment --Ken Fox
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