Movie Review

Drama, Romance Rated PG for some mild thematic elements and violence. Running Time: 1:50 Released: 11/24/2004 Showtimes

    "The Work and the Glory" is a handsomely mounted piece of historical fiction, an unabashedly old-fashioned tale of family struggles during the early days of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
    Based on the first volume of Gerald N. Lund's nine-book series, the movie introduces the Steed family, farmers starting a homestead in western New York in 1830. The father, Benjamin Steed (Sam Hennings), decides he and his sons Joshua (Eric Johnson) and Nathan (Alexander Carroll) need help clearing their field, so they hire two brothers, Joseph and Hyrum Smith (Jonathan Scarfe and Ryan Wood). But the townsfolk warn the Steeds against associating with Joseph, because he talks about visions and some "golden plates" he found in the woods.
    The script, by the film's director Russ Holt, soon sets up a romantic triangle between the Steed brothers and the storekeeper's daughter, Lydia McBride (Tiffany Dupont). Soon, though, Joshua and Nathan aren't just fighting over Lydia but over religion - Nathan believes Joseph Smith's story and is converted, while Joshua becomes a rogue and an outlaw.
    "The Work and the Glory" boasts a budget of $7.4 million, a record for a Mormon Cinema entry but a pittance by Hollywood standards. For LDS filmmakers who have been handicapped by working on the cheap, the movie's production values (like Sam Cardon's score and T.C. Christensen's luminous cinematography) and professional actors (such as Edward Albert as Smith confidant Martin Harris and Brenda Strong, from TV's "Desperate Housewives," as the Steed matriarch) are an instructive example of what money can buy. For Hollywood, it's a good example of how much can be had for so little.
    The storytelling is earnest and straightforward, if a bit stilted and slow-moving in places. It's sweetly reminiscent of such '70s historical miniseries as John Jakes' Revolutionary War tales "The Bastard" and "The Rebels" - melodramas where fictional characters run into historic figures and think nothing of it.
    Among the solid cast, I was impressed with the warmth Scarfe brings to Joseph Smith, a figure usually depicted with such reverence that his humanity is shunted aside. Scarfe's performance is indicative of what "The Work and the Glory" (and, one hopes, its potential sequels) can do best: Make the dry facts of Mormon history spring to life.
   

      Of all the movies that have been produced in the current local LDS filmmaking movement, "The Work and the Glory" certainly looks the best and appears to be the most accomplished.

      Credit for much of that should go to veteran local cinematographer T.C. Christensen and his crew, whose wondrous photography not only makes the film look terrific but also acts as the film's best asset.

      But with improved production values also come high expectations, especially in terms of storytelling. So when the plotting and a few of the performances are just so-so, it's hard not to think of the film as at least a bit of a disappointment.

      Though it bears the title of the book's entire series, "The Work and the Glory" film is actually based on the first volume in that series, which is subtitled "Pillar of Light." Written by LDS Church general authority Gerald N. Lund, the best-selling novel's weave fictional stories around real-life LDS Church history.

      This film — the first of a projected series of nine — is set in the 1820s and is told from the perspective of the Steeds, a family of farmers who move from Vermont to Palmyra, N.Y.

      There, the two oldest sons, Joshua and Nathan (Eric Johnson and Alexander Carroll), squabble over the affections of Lydia McBride (Tiffany Dupont), the daughter of a wealthy local resident.

      They also come to blows over one of the workers hired by their father to help clear their land, Joseph Smith (Jonathan Scarfe). While Nathan believes Joseph's seemingly wild claims about angelic visitations, Joshua joins with other townspeople who have shunned Joseph and his family.

      Screenwriter/director Russ Holt has clearly had to leave a lot of material out in adapting "Pillar of Light." Condensing Lund's 400-plus-page novel to an under-two-hours movie has left an episodic feel, and the pacing is a little jumpy and disjointed.

      Also, the main story line about Joshua and Nathan's rivalry over Lydia comes off as the least interesting, and it's resolved much too easily and without much emotion. And neither Carroll nor Dupont really has the presence to command audience attention. They're good-looking but also sort of bland.

      By comparison, the subplot involving Joseph Smith and his attempts to start what would become the LDS Church is much more compelling and watchable. A lot of that has to do with the performance by Scarfe, who definitely has big-screen presence.

      And so do veteran television actors Sam Hennings and Brenda Strong (who narrates ABC's "Desperate Housewives"), playing the Steed parents.

      "The Work and the Glory" is rated PG for a couple of scenes of violence (a scuffle and a beating), as well as some vulgar moments involving bodily functions (belching). Running time: 108 minutes.

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The Work and the Glory - Film Review by Matthew Kennedy

The long awaited film, "The Work and the Glory," based on Elder Gerald Lund's novel "Pillar of Light" was seen for the first time last night at the Jordan Commons Theater in Sandy, Utah.

I personally have never read any of Elder Lund's books, so I felt that I was ready for whatever the story teller had to say. The film opened with a rumbling, building score of music that pulled me into the prettiest cinematography I may have ever seen. The rolling, gorgeous introduction to upper-state New York has been on my mind since last night. Needless to say, the movie starts off like a real epic film.

Each of the characters that folded into the story seemed real and offered convincing performances. Like most I suppose, I was eager to see the work of the actor playing Joseph Smith (Jonathan Scarfe) The rest of the audience around me appeared to reflect my own feelings; a remarkable job. The film seemed to place equal importance on showing Joseph's personality and character as well as physical attributes. There was a second settling in for this great movie once I liked the cast of actors.

The movie depicted not only the life of a few struggling families in the old township of Palmyra, New York, but it explored the education, minds, and general population of that time in early America. Clinging closely to well known facts in Mormon history, the story weaves a reasonable and believable scenario of what the early saints must have dealt with.

With the exception of a few times when people around me were sneaking away their tears, I was enjoyably distracted into a story that transported me to the 1830's. Like only a great movie can do, I was enthralled!!

The partnership of two great forces, Deseret Book and Excel Entertainment, is off to a remarkable start. Great Movie!!! I recommend it!!!