Dealing with a false minister in Bleakwater, New Mexico
A homesteading couple have the misfortune of living near a questionable religious leader (Jason Isaacs) and his compound. The wife (January Jones) soon finds herself facing a great challenge while an unusual-but-righteous lawman (Ed Harris) takes over the Sheriff duties of the nearby town.
"Sweetwater” (2013) is reminiscent of three 70’s Westerns: It features the desperate loneliness and vast landscapes of “Bad Company,” the ugly side of the Old West of “The Great Minnesota Northfield Raid,” and the quirky tone of “The Missouri Breaks,” not to mention the eccentric-but-bold protagonist of the latter film. A couple of more modern Westerns also come mind: “South of Heaven, West of Hell” and “The Proposition.”
This is better than a couple of those, but not as good as the top ones. Still, if you like any of ’em, you’ll probably appreciate “Sweetwater.” It features a love-to-hate villain in the manner of “Rob Roy” and “Inglourious Basterds.”
A viewer criticized the protagonist, Sarah, for being a prostitute, yet this isn’t true. She had totally turned from her former lifestyle, which she was misled into by her mother. She's actually a loving wife of her humble husband (Eduardo Noriega).
This same critic lamented the depiction of "evil Christians," but they obviously aren't actual disciples of Christ. To explain, the Lord plainly instructed us to "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them... A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them... Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (from Matthew 7:15-23).
So, the ‘Prophet’ in the movie isn't a real believer, but rather a false prophet. This can be observed near the end when he shoots a sheep for no reason, which symbolizes that he doesn't care about the "sheep" of the Church and actively destroys them. It's also relevant that the film implies he was a Mormon, as opposed to a strictly biblical believer, since he hailed from Utah and left several wives behind there.
Unfortunately, the flick doesn't provide a counterbalance to Josiah, such as the way "The Mist" used Amanda (Laurie Holden) to offset the Pharisaical Mrs. Carmody (Gay Harden).
It runs 1 hour, 34 minutes, and was shot at Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe as well as Abiquiu, which is a 65 miles drive north of the ranch in north-central New Mexico.
GRADE: B
