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Brigham City
Spartan Home Entertainment // PG-13 // April 23, 2002
List Price: $29.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
Religious themed movies are proving to be big business. Left Behind, Carman The Champion, and the two Omega Code films are just a handful that have hit theaters in recent years. These 'godsploitation' movies have been criticized for being little more than thinly veiled propaganda, driving the agendas of a powerful few and exploiting the piety of audiences. Richard Dutcher, who also wrote, produced, directed, and starred in the successful 2000 indie film God's Army, broke from the traditional hackneyed formula of a lead character finding religion and living happily ever after for his follow-up, Brigham City.
Like Zion Films' God's Army, Brigham City deals with the Mormon faith. Dutcher stars as Wes Clayton, a widower who is both the sheriff and a bishop in a small, predominantly Mormon town in Utah. When a body turns up in the outskirts of town, the death is dismissed as a random highway murder. Clayton assumes that it's not the business of Brigham, which has never been subjected to that sort of violence. A pair of FBI agents steps in, much to the chagrin of fiercely territorial deputy Terry (Matthew A. Brown). As the body count continues to rise and the presence of a serial killer becomes increasingly evident, Clayton can no longer try to sweep the situation under the rug. He turns to a retired sheriff (Wilford Brimley) for help, and Clayton even turns to his influence as a bishop to go to extreme lengths to unmask the murderer.
I do not consider myself to be a religious person at all, and I have very little familiarity with the Mormon Church. Though the buzz around Brigham City was exceedingly positive, I was still expecting its religious elements to be handled in as overbearing and heavy-handed a cornball way as its more widely-promoted predecessors. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was not the case. That's not to say that religion is wholly absent -- there are a number of scenes in which it is touched upon, as well as several shots of characters praying and lengthy segments that take place in a church. There's no dialogue in the vein of "It's happening...(dramatic pause)...just like in the Bible!" or "...but Peter, don't you remember the lessons taught to us in the Book of Whatever, verse 3?"
Though there aren't any monstrous explosions or generous use of CGI effects, the high quality of the production values are such that Brigham City doesn't look like a million dollar production. The acting is surprisingly good as well, though lines from a couple of very minor characters and the dark monologue from the revealed killer are unconvincing. Carrie Morgan is a stand-out as Clayton's spunky secretary, and it's nice to see that Wilford Brimley is still finding work. The run time is right at two hours, and Brigham City would've benefited from some tightening. Though perhaps Dutcher felt obligated to include a number of extended scenes in the church for his financial backers, these moments often feel unnecessarily long and drag the movie down considerably. The bare structure of the plot -- murders, investigations, and numerous red herrings culminating in a surprise revelation -- is not strikingly original, but the combination of the xenophobia of a small, seemingly innocent town and skillful execution make even this well-tread premise seem more fresh than it would've in less capable hands.
Brigham City isn't just a good religious suspense flick; it's a good suspense flick, period, and worth a rental.
This DVD is somewhat of an unusual situation, though. The review copy I was sent by Spartan Home Entertainment is incomplete, lacking the majority of the features of the version that will be released in late April. I don't believe this disc was intended to be reviewed in this capacity at such an early stage, but for whatever reason, I'll go ahead and touch on what's present.
Video: This DVD of Brigham City is letterboxed to an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. I am unsure if the final release will be in anamorphic widescreen, but this particular disc is not enhanced for 16x9 televisions. I somewhat unimaginatively find myself comparing non-anamorphic DVDs to my preferred point of reference, USA World Premiere Movies, and Brigham City does look incrementally better than what I'd expect to see on cable. Perhaps it would look even nicer if the 115 minute movie weren't crammed onto 3.88 gigs on this single sided, single layer disc. Maybe the bit budget for the full DVD will be larger. Edge haloing was noticeable at some portions when I was playing the disc in my DVD-ROM, preparing image captures for this review, though they didn't seem nearly as intrusive on my television set. I didn't spot any grain or speckling. Areas of fine detail, such as cloth and roof shingles, have a tendency to shimmer somewhat. I would imagine it's also a safe assumption that the final release will not have subtitles reminding viewers every fifteen minutes that this disc is for screening purposes only.
Audio: The final version is said to include Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, though this screener copy only includes an strictly average English Dolby stereo surround track. I didn't notice much rumbling from the subwoofer at all, even during a live performance of a country band. Perhaps a discrete LFE channel would improve things somewhat in that respect. The rears get the usual 2.0 surround treatment, which is to say not much at all beyond ambiance and music. There are a couple of nice moments when the surrounds burst to life, such as the crackling of police radios at a crime scene. The only real flaw I noticed was distortion as a woman was screaming during a search of her home.
Supplements: The screener copy I was sent did not include any supplemental material or (yikes!) even any chapter stops. The enclosed booklet lists director commentary, behind-the-scenes interviews, filmographies, and a trailer. I don't think it would be fair for me to make an assessment of the disc's extras without having the opportunity to view them myself, and the zero score in this review reflect what is on the disc I was sent.
Conclusion: I'm not particularly fond of the idea of trying to decide whether or not to recommend a DVD based on an incomplete copy, though I did enjoy the movie. I guess the sensible thing to do, given the material at hand, would be to just say 'rent it'.
Like Zion Films' God's Army, Brigham City deals with the Mormon faith. Dutcher stars as Wes Clayton, a widower who is both the sheriff and a bishop in a small, predominantly Mormon town in Utah. When a body turns up in the outskirts of town, the death is dismissed as a random highway murder. Clayton assumes that it's not the business of Brigham, which has never been subjected to that sort of violence. A pair of FBI agents steps in, much to the chagrin of fiercely territorial deputy Terry (Matthew A. Brown). As the body count continues to rise and the presence of a serial killer becomes increasingly evident, Clayton can no longer try to sweep the situation under the rug. He turns to a retired sheriff (Wilford Brimley) for help, and Clayton even turns to his influence as a bishop to go to extreme lengths to unmask the murderer.
I do not consider myself to be a religious person at all, and I have very little familiarity with the Mormon Church. Though the buzz around Brigham City was exceedingly positive, I was still expecting its religious elements to be handled in as overbearing and heavy-handed a cornball way as its more widely-promoted predecessors. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was not the case. That's not to say that religion is wholly absent -- there are a number of scenes in which it is touched upon, as well as several shots of characters praying and lengthy segments that take place in a church. There's no dialogue in the vein of "It's happening...(dramatic pause)...just like in the Bible!" or "...but Peter, don't you remember the lessons taught to us in the Book of Whatever, verse 3?"
Though there aren't any monstrous explosions or generous use of CGI effects, the high quality of the production values are such that Brigham City doesn't look like a million dollar production. The acting is surprisingly good as well, though lines from a couple of very minor characters and the dark monologue from the revealed killer are unconvincing. Carrie Morgan is a stand-out as Clayton's spunky secretary, and it's nice to see that Wilford Brimley is still finding work. The run time is right at two hours, and Brigham City would've benefited from some tightening. Though perhaps Dutcher felt obligated to include a number of extended scenes in the church for his financial backers, these moments often feel unnecessarily long and drag the movie down considerably. The bare structure of the plot -- murders, investigations, and numerous red herrings culminating in a surprise revelation -- is not strikingly original, but the combination of the xenophobia of a small, seemingly innocent town and skillful execution make even this well-tread premise seem more fresh than it would've in less capable hands.
Brigham City isn't just a good religious suspense flick; it's a good suspense flick, period, and worth a rental.
This DVD is somewhat of an unusual situation, though. The review copy I was sent by Spartan Home Entertainment is incomplete, lacking the majority of the features of the version that will be released in late April. I don't believe this disc was intended to be reviewed in this capacity at such an early stage, but for whatever reason, I'll go ahead and touch on what's present.
Video: This DVD of Brigham City is letterboxed to an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. I am unsure if the final release will be in anamorphic widescreen, but this particular disc is not enhanced for 16x9 televisions. I somewhat unimaginatively find myself comparing non-anamorphic DVDs to my preferred point of reference, USA World Premiere Movies, and Brigham City does look incrementally better than what I'd expect to see on cable. Perhaps it would look even nicer if the 115 minute movie weren't crammed onto 3.88 gigs on this single sided, single layer disc. Maybe the bit budget for the full DVD will be larger. Edge haloing was noticeable at some portions when I was playing the disc in my DVD-ROM, preparing image captures for this review, though they didn't seem nearly as intrusive on my television set. I didn't spot any grain or speckling. Areas of fine detail, such as cloth and roof shingles, have a tendency to shimmer somewhat. I would imagine it's also a safe assumption that the final release will not have subtitles reminding viewers every fifteen minutes that this disc is for screening purposes only.
Audio: The final version is said to include Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, though this screener copy only includes an strictly average English Dolby stereo surround track. I didn't notice much rumbling from the subwoofer at all, even during a live performance of a country band. Perhaps a discrete LFE channel would improve things somewhat in that respect. The rears get the usual 2.0 surround treatment, which is to say not much at all beyond ambiance and music. There are a couple of nice moments when the surrounds burst to life, such as the crackling of police radios at a crime scene. The only real flaw I noticed was distortion as a woman was screaming during a search of her home.
Supplements: The screener copy I was sent did not include any supplemental material or (yikes!) even any chapter stops. The enclosed booklet lists director commentary, behind-the-scenes interviews, filmographies, and a trailer. I don't think it would be fair for me to make an assessment of the disc's extras without having the opportunity to view them myself, and the zero score in this review reflect what is on the disc I was sent.
Conclusion: I'm not particularly fond of the idea of trying to decide whether or not to recommend a DVD based on an incomplete copy, though I did enjoy the movie. I guess the sensible thing to do, given the material at hand, would be to just say 'rent it'.
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