Sons of Perdition
 
Kent Tentschert
Reelworld
Webster-Kirkwood Times - Webster Groves, Missouri
Sons of Perdition

Genre: Documentary
Rating: R for language and some teen drug use
Grade: C+
Reviewer: Kent Tentschert

Kent’s Take:

When Warren Jeffs took control of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints known as FLDS (a fundamentalist Mormon sect), he began preparing his flock for the end of the world. Jeffs banned all TV, movies, music, dancing, riding bicycles, fraternizing with the opposite sex. They don’t even go to church anymore. Every marriage is arranged, and polygamy (taking multiple wives) is practiced. Jeffs also began exiling young men who lacked the commitment to this rigid religious structure.

"Sons of Perdition" is the story of these castoffs, young men who have shunned Jeffs’ cult-like practices and left the community, or those who have been excommunicated for infractions. These boys, between ages 15 and 18, find themselves homeless, uneducated (some cannot read), and shunned to a society for which they are ill-prepared.

Many soon turn to drugs and alcohol as a remedy for their loneliness and fear.

This raw documentary follows three boys as they wrestle to make sense of a world in which they don’t belong, a world that they have been taught is full of evil and hate, a world they now must find a place within.

Unfortunately, this documentary is one-sided; those in Jeffs’ church would not and could not give their side of the story to give further insight into these boys’ lives. And what is even more disheartening is the realization that these boys can only give a cursory view of their former religion and life because they were purposefully kept that way to force their subservience.

As the boys struggle to find a permanent address so they can attend high school, they try to keep in contact with their large families, some attempt to rescue siblings, while others just want to hear a familiar voice. "Sons Of Perdition" is a sad tale of both damnation and understanding. What these allegedly damned souls discover through their heartache and loss is that freedom and free thought come at a price, the price of their family. Sixteen-year-old Bruce put it aptly, stating, "Religion should never come between family. Family should be your religion."
 
WebsterKirkwoodTimes.com
Originally published May 20, 2011
 
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