We warn you: “Under the Banner of Heaven” is not a fairy tale. This series looks back on a tragedy that occurred on July 24, 1984 in the State of Utah: the murders of Brenda Wright Lafferty (Daisy Edgar-Jones), who had her throat slit, and her 15-month-old daughter, Olivia, decapitated. The 24-year-old was married to Allen Lafferty (Billy Howle), son of a Mormon family who followed the particularly extreme precepts of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the letter.
It can be revealed that Brenda and Olivia’s killers are Dan and Ron (Wyatt Russell and Sam Worthington), Allen’s brothers, who considered their sister-in-law an intruder and explained that they killed her by order of God. . Committed almost forty years ago, these barbaric acts were the subject of a book by Jon Krakauer, released in July 2003 and became a bestseller. Composed of six episodes, the eponymous series “Under the Banner of Heaven” is the adaptation by Dustin Lance Black, who also happens to have grown up in a Mormon community.
The screenwriter added to this story an important fictional character, Detective Jeb Pyre, who is also a Mormon and questions his faith during his sordid investigation. His interpreter, Andrew Garfield – nominated in the Best Miniseries Actor category at the Emmy Awards, which will take place on September 12 –, has already played similar roles. In 2006, in “Thou Shalt Not Kill”, by Mel Gibson, he was a young American eager to serve his country by going to war, but whose beliefs were at odds with violence. Ten years later, in “Silence”, by Martin Scorsese, he slipped into the skin of a 17th century Jesuit priest who, during a trip to Japan, came up against the brutal anti-Christianity of the country. Finally, the recent “In the eyes of Tammy Faye” had allowed him to play the controversial televangelist Jim Bakker, who clearly preferred money to God.
“Through their spirituality, their faith and the doubts they may have about it, these men can only question the way of living our life and the meaning we want to give it”, comments the actor. . “In my opinion, they allow us to ask ourselves what we are doing here, what our incarnation on Earth is all about. So yes, Jeb, as a Mormon, wants to be loyal to his community. He is torn, but ultimately his job is to uncover the truth. Because what happened to him had a terrible impact, not only among Mormons, but in society in general. Adds Dustin Lance Black, “The Laffertys were going through a very difficult time at the time, which is why they slid towards fundamentalism. Krakauer’s book and this series are intended to show the difference between contemporary Mormons and fundamentalists. And for us, it was crucial not to sugarcoat the atrocity of these murders. »
“Under the Banner of Heaven”, available on Disney+.