Synopsis
A story set against the Mountain Meadows Massacre, the film is based upon the tragedy which occurred in Utah in 1857. A group of settlers, traveling on wagons, was murdered by the Mormons. All together, about 140 souls of men, women and children, were taken.
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Cast
- Jon VoightJacob Samuelson
- Tamara HopeEmily Hudson
- Trent FordJonathan Samuelson
- Lolita DavidovichNancy Dunlap
- Dean CainJoseph Smith
- Terence StampBrigham Young
- Shaun JohnstonCaptain Fancher
- Franklin E. LevinsonCaptain Baker
- Daniel LibmanReverend Grant Hudson
- Barbara Gates WilsonMartha Hudson
Recommendations
- 63
TV Guide Magazine
Most significant and contrary to the Mormon Church's ongoing position, the film depicts Young as present when the plot is hatched to slaughter the emigrants. Needless to say, this workmanlike but unflinching film won't be playing in Utah anytime soon. - 58
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The cruel simplicity of the atrocity is made needlessly chaotic by artless camerawork that swishes rapidly back and forth across the action, to the accompaniment of a syrupy soundtrack. - 50
The Hollywood Reporter
Cain has crafted a modest picture, filmed in Canada, that too often feels like a very elaborate episode of "Gunsmoke." - 40
Village Voice
Shot in a style that might be termed Americana gravitas, September Dawn has the ham-fisted lyricism of political ads and pharmaceutical commercials. The schematic script is further burdened with heavy ironies and hackneyed dialogue. - 40
Variety
The didactic presentation, grim speechifying and tacked-on love story all signify a less-than-healthy regard for the audience's intelligence. - 38
New York Daily News
September Dawn, written by an evangelical Christian, may be the worst historical drama ever made. - 30
Washington Post
It's a soap opera posing as moral outrage. - 0
Chicago Sun-Times
What a strange, confused, unpleasant movie this is. Two theories have clustered around it: (1) It is anti-Mormon propaganda to muddy the waters around the presidential campaign of Mitt Romney, or (2) it is not about Mormons at all, but an allegory about the 9/11/01 terrorists. Take your choice. The problem with allegories is that you can plug them in anywhere. No doubt the film would have great impact in Darfur.
