This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
If a clairvoyant, religious savior with an ability to hear radio frequencies was born into the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, his story might be similar to the plot of the film "Midnight Special."
I saw the movie Friday. I was surprised early in the film to see a depiction of a religious sect whose women wear prairie dresses much like the women in the FLDS. Apparently, I need to read more movie industry news. Writer and director Jeff Nichols has given interviews discussing how he researched the FLDS before making "Midnight Special."
Attire wasn't the only similarity between the FLDS and the unnamed sect from San Angelo, Texas.
• The Yearning For Zion Ranch, which state and federal authorities raided in 2008, was about 40 miles from San Angelo, and San Angelo is where many of the FLDS legal proceedings, including the trial of Warren Jeffs, occurred. "Midnight Special" has a scene where law enforcement arrives at what's referred to as "The Ranch," puts people on buses, takes them to various public facilities and has the followers complete questionnaires. That's a condensed but otherwise accurate description of the YFZ raid.
• The sect's leader, played by actor Sam Shepard, adopted the boy at the center of the plot, played by actor Jaeden Lieberher, though it's suggested the birth parents did not consent or did so reluctantly. Lots of children in the FLDS have been separated from their parents, often under the pretense that either the child or the parent is not worthy of being in the United Order, the FLDS's elite upper echelon.
• Two of the movie's protagonists, played by actors Michael Shannon and Joel Edgerton, were childhood friends. They lost contact when the family of Shannon's character moved him onto the ranch. A lot of FLDS have described over the years losing touch with friends and family as they've moved or been ordered to move to other FLDS communities, be it in Texas, Colorado, South Dakota or elsewhere.
• Before performing a difficult task, a loyal member of the sect, played by actor Bill Camp, remarks that he's not qualified, that he's an electrician qualified in two states. A lot of FLDS men, perhaps most, work in the building trades. If their trade requires a license or certification, they probably are qualified in multiple states. Camp also did a good job speaking like an FLDS man — a soft monotone.
The sect members in the film did do some things out of character for the FLDS. For starters, there was no indication the sect in "Midnight Special" were polygamists.
The next biggest inconsistency was the violence. The FLDS, as a people, have no history of shooting each other or outsiders.
The men's attire, while conservative, wasn't the mono-colored long-sleeve shirts most FLDS men wear. The characters drove pickup trucks, but not the four-door oversized pickup trucks with tinted windows that people on the Utah-Arizona line call "Plyg Rigs."
Twitter: @natecarlisle