"The Work and the Glory III: A House Divided" Excel Entertainment Directed by Sterling Van Wagenen Written by Matt Whitaker, based on the novel The Work and the Glory, Vol. 3: Truth Will Prevail by Gerald N. Lund Starring: Sam Hennings, Brenda Strong, Eric Johnson, Jonathan Scarfe, Alexander Carroll, Meredith Salenger and Michael Bowen Rated PG/93 minutes Opened Nov. 22, 2006 Three out of four stars
I wish Larry Miller would throw more money at these "Work and the Glory" movies, or at least bring in the producing weight of someone with deeper pockets and richer filmmaking resources. 1820s Georgia and Missouri shouldn't look this boxed-in, stagy and flat, like a Kinko's color copy of happily scrubbed set designs from "Little House on the Prairie" or "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman." My complaint might sound unfair considering "The Work and the Glory" is based on a series of books aimed at a small, niche audience of Mormons, and in turn has been made into three movies that are also aimed at a small, niche audience of Mormons. Such a puny market doesn't exactly sound like music to the ears of investors.
But when we, as ticket-buyers, are expected to shell out the same amount of money for a $100 million Hollywood blockbuster as we are for a cheaply financed historical epic about the beginnings of the LDS Church and the entwined drama of the fictional Steed family, we expect it to look more epic than, say, a bunch of good-looking actors who dressed up in period clothes and put on a show.
Shabbiness aside, "The Work and the Glory III: A House Divided" has a strong story that is efficiently, if not dynamically, filmed by Sterling Van Wagenen, who prefers a lot of medium-long shots, which doesn't help the staginess factor. The wayward Steed, Joshua (a fierce Eric Johnson), has moved to Savannah, Ga., after an intense confrontation with his father, Ben (Sam Hennings, channeling a leather belt made for whuppin') at the end of part two. For those of you just joining us, Joshua had allowed his Missouri militiamen to flog his Mormon brother, Nathan (Alexander Carroll), which infuriated his father.
A house was burned down--that's how intense the confrontation was.
Hiding from his past now, Joshua courts cotton farmers and the lovely widow Caroline Mendenhall (Meredith Salenger) in his new home down south. Up north, Ben and his family have settled in Kirkland, Ohio, where LDS prophet Joseph Smith (Jonathan Scarfe, in the movie's most sincere performance) struggles to lead his followers in the face of near-insurmountable church debt.
I smiled during Joseph Smith's pulpit speech about the risks of credit debt--modern day LDS leaders have recently warned their congregations about the same thing. Subtle it ain't. I'm cutting up my credit cards right now.
Of course, subtlety isn't the aspiration of a story that takes its sweeping cues from "Titanic" and "Doctor Zhivago," placing soap-opera-ish dramas in the foreground of historical turmoil. It's engaging stuff, and the lesson of forgiveness that Ben and Joshua learn is honestly earned, unlike the dumb schtick in Tyler Perry's insulting Madea movies.
"The Work and the Glory III: A House Divided" has its heart in the right place, even if its production values make TBS made-for-TV-movies look swanky.
