The trailer for 8: The Mormon Proposition gives you chills, but watching the full documentary—even in an over air-conditioned theater—does not have the same effect. The trailer is cohesive, cinematic and urgent, drawing you into the story of the legalization of gay marriage in California, the Mormon church’s role in the passage of Proposition 8, and the resulting pain felt nationwide among homosexuals and heterosexuals alike. Instead of expanding on this teaser, 8:The Mormon Proposition ultimately loses its audience in a fragmented deluge of cheesy dramatizations, bad graphics, and—most problematically—the confusion of three very different stories.

The first is the story from the trailer. Reed Cowan does a fine job of interweaving many different sources and allowing them to speak for themselves. The conversations with the primary gay couple in the film are powerful and heartbreaking, and their juxtaposition with the Mormon Proposition 8 advertisements and testimonials is maddening. We are also exposed to the monetary and logistical elements of the issue, meeting an investigator who uncovered the churches financial records and communiqués about their role in a massive campaign to ensure the passage of Proposition 8. This story is, at times, very compelling. However, there are glaring problems, namely: a lack of voices, and many aesthetic missteps. 

The film spends too much time with the one couple, and while this creates an intimacy with their story and an emotional investment in their struggle, the tragedy of Proposition 8 lies in its vast impact; rights of homosexual residents across California were taken away. The film acknowledges this with footage of protests and commentary, but more snippets of others’ stories and experiences would have painted a fuller picture. The first half of the film is rife with strange dramatizations that continue throughout. There is simply no need to put us in the cockpit of a spaceship as it flies through the galaxies and descends on a bizarre field of fuzzy, white angels (heaven). In explaining how much money the Mormon church poured into its campaign efforts, dollars fluttering down on an image of the Mormon headquarters is entirely unnecessary, as are any other slow motion clips involving checks and stacks of bills.

And then everything shifts. About halfway into the film I whispered, “wait, what?” The second story is about the quiet pain of homosexuals in Mormon communities and Utah, attempted suicides, and physical “corrective” torture at Brigham Young University.  Certainly this addresses Mormon attitudes about homosexuality, and is both deeply unsettling and profoundly engaging.  But, there is no smooth transition and no rhetorical clarity. We are no longer talking about politics, but sitting across from an older gay man describing his experiences in the “corrective” sessions, which are frighteningly reminiscent of A Clockwork Orange. But when did this happen? Does it still happen? What does the Mormon church have to say about it? The man has since gone on to work with psychologically troubled Mormon homosexuals. This is an extremely interesting and powerful story that could have been told more clearly at the beginning, setting up a history of oppression. But ultimately, it demands its own film.

And finally, there is the controversial Chris Buttars—a radical Mormon member of the Utah State Senate—and an inconclusive exploration of the predominant Mormon opinion of his politics and person. His intolerant and hurtful statements about gay people are thematically relevant, but it is unclear what he adds to this already confused narrative.

The website for 8: The Mormon Proposition explains that Cowan originally intended to make a different film—a focused exploration of what I’ve deemed the second of the documentary’s three stories. I left the theater disappointed that he hadn’t stuck with that initial thought. Well, he kind of did.

This is precisely the problem. 

by Sarah Sherman