Dawn doesn’t rise

Ham-handed account of Mormon murderers proves shallow | Priya Abraham

September Dawn chronicles a shocking, if little-known event in Mormon history. Rated R for violence, the film recounts how a band of Mormons slaughtered some 120 wagon train settlers passing through Mountain Meadows, Utah, in 1857.

The massacre is historical fact, coming after Mormons had been driven out of Missouri and had resettled in Utah under Brigham Young's headship. What remains unclear is if Young ordered the attack, apparently a blind act of revenge because the California-bound settlers were Missourian. The Mormon church says not; the filmmakers say yes and depict Young (Terence Stamp) as present while leaders planned the assault. Beyond this point, the film itself has a gratingly sentimental, made-for-TV feel that is both ham-handed and bland.

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September 15, 2007, Vol. 22, No. 33

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