The Work and the Glory III: A House Divided (2006)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Sterling Van Wagenen

Writers:

Gerald N. Lund (novel)
Matt Whitaker (screenplay)

Release Date:

February 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Joshua Steed returns to Missouri a wealthy man with a beautiful wife; however, the past has a way of catching up...

Plot Keywords:

Mormon | Sequel | Third Part | Based On Novel

Cast

Sam Hennings	...	Benjamin Steed
Brenda Strong	...	Mary Ann Steed
Eric Johnson	...	Joshua Steed
Alexander Carroll	...	Nathan Steed
Brighton Hertford	...	Melissa Steed
Julia Cunningham	...	Rebecca Steed
Cody Sanders	...	Matthew Steed
Sarah Bastian	...	Lydia Steed (as Sera Bastian)
Emily Podleski	...	Jessica Steed
Jonathan Scarfe	...	Joseph Smith
Melanie Hawkins	...	Emma Smith
Frank Ashmore	...	Martin Harris
Curtis Andersen	...	Carl Rogers (as Curtis Anderson)
Jeff Ham	...	Obadiah
Giulia Pagano	...	Mother Smith

MPAA:

Rated PG for some violence.

Runtime:

USA:89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Johnson City, Tennessee, USA

Company:

Vineyard Productions

Trivia:

This film was shot back-to-back with The Work and the Glory II: American Zion (2005).

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Non-Mormons in western Missouri are shown as wearing eastern clothing and living in frame homes. Missouri settlers in the 1830s, men and women alike, wore buckskins and lived in cabins. In fact, one of the things they disliked about Mormons was their clothing and houses, which to the "gentiles" represented an incursion of what they had gone west to get away from.

Movie Connections:

Follows The Work and the Glory II: American Zion (2005)

Condensed versions can be stellar

Given that I have not read any of the books upon which the Work and the Glory movies are based, I do not bring a pre-conceived measuring stick to the theatre. I have,however, seen all three movies and thought this one was well-directed. The main characters were flesh and blood and not one dimensional. I enjoyed being given a window into the lives of the characters. I thought the story moved along without condescending dialog and the audience was respected enough to be allowed to put two and two together numerous times. I agree with some others that Joseph's role was too slight in this one. However, the only caricatures I saw were in some of the mobbers. Some of the resolutions were a bit swift, but were better for me than if they had been drawn out and over-dramatized. Of particular quality in acting were Sam Hennings, Eric Johnson and Meredith Salenger.