Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
"Six Days in August" is a new movie that opened nationwide on Oct. 10. This independent film is about the 1844 succession crisis in Nauvoo following the death of Joseph Smith.
Mark Goodman, the film's director, tells KSL.com that the story of this crisis and how Brigham Young became the second president of the Church is not particularly well known among members of the Church.
"In our modern world, the process for replacing a president of the Church follows long established practice," he says. "But members of the Church in 1844 didn't have any experience with this. No one expected Joseph to be killed."
Goodman, who is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, says he was inspired to tell this story because it has never been told on film before, but also because it has relevance for today's Church members.
"There are some who think Brigham Young wasn't a prophet, that somehow the Church went astray after Joseph died. But without Brigham, there is no line of authority. Others claim that Brigham was an enemy to Joseph. Nothing could be further from the truth."
Brigham Young is portrayed by John Donovan Wilson, and Goodman says his performance of the Latter-day Saint leader is one of the best he's ever seen.
"John brought not only talent to the table, but a deep sense of the spiritual to the performance. When he did his audition, one of the scenes he did was of Brigham speaking in tongues. After a whole string of disappointing reads by other actors, I was totally blown away by John's performance."
Wilson says he has a specific approach to portraying roles like this iconic figure.
"When you're portraying someone who was a real person, you feel an added responsibility to try to not simply portray your opinion of the person, but to try to get into their head as best you can and portray them as they saw themselves," he says. "I tried to find everything written about him by his closest friends and associates, and then dove into what he wrote himself. I think because he's sort of a larger than life figure, a lot of people don't really understand Brigham as a human being."
The focus of the movie is on Brigham, but it is also the story of Brigham's relationship with another significant character, Joseph Smith, played by Paul Wuthrich, who reprises his role from the 2021 movie "Witnesses."
"I love Joseph Smith, and am grateful to have had the opportunity to portray the prophet of the restoration not once, but twice. Both experiences have given me a deeper understanding of this amazing man. It was an interesting contrast—in 'Witnesses,' set during the Kirtland period, his closest friends abandon him, but in 'Six Days in August,' set during the Nauvoo period, he has a friend in Brigham Young who remains faithful to him to the end," Wuthrich says.
Another significant character in "Six Days in August" is Mary Ann Angell Young, the second wife of Brigham (his first wife, Miriam, passed away at the age of 26). This role is portrayed by Twyla Wilson, who is married to John Donovan Wilson in real life.
"When we were going through auditions, we really loved Twyla's performance," Goodman says. "It actually wasn't until later that we realized she was married to John."
Executive Producer Dan Peterson says this movie offers a unique portrayal of Brigham that audiences have never seen before. Most people picture Brigham Young as the bearded old man they've seen in photos. But Brigham wasn't always in his 70s and Peterson says he loved the opportunity to show the youthful Brigham.
"Most people think of Brigham as a hard man, dealing with hard times. But during his life the real Brigham experienced love and loss, laughter and sorrow, just like the rest of us. I think you're going to be pleasantly surprised to meet this Brigham, a Brigham who is there in the historical accounts if you look for it, but who most people don't know."
The lead actors were cast from around the country and some of them are not members of the Church, but Producer Russell Richins says the most important thing was their performances.
"For us, what is most important is getting the best talent that we can. We want actors who can bring these historical figures to life. This film is as good as it is because of those performances, regardless of where the actors come from. I was profoundly grateful for their amazing talent."
"Six Days in August" was filmed on location in Canada, Upstate New York, Tennessee, Idaho, as well as a few scenes in Utah.
Richins says this added an extra layer of logistical demands, but was well worth it.
"Filming outside of Utah, and especially outside of the United States, creates a whole bunch extra challenges — finding locations, coordinating and moving an army of cast and crew, along with their equipment, wardrobe and props — but you just can't get the look of the Nauvoo time period here in Utah, Richins says. "I love this state and have lived here the majority of my life, but we do live in a desert. We wanted the Nauvoo period to look like Nauvoo. We are very pleased with the results."
"Six Days in August" is currently playing in theaters along the Wasatch Front as well as nationwide.
