I think this movie had its heart in the right place but there were some parts that were unrealistic. For one thing I think a lot of the characters in the film were depicted more as we would want them to feel then how they would probably feel in reality. Some people are more prone to independent though then others but I would assume (especially after having read numerous books about the FLDS) that becoming disillusioned about the environment they had grown up in would be a more gradual process. Especially because most of the children who ran away would still have family in the FLDS and most of them would probably have some relatives they still cared about. They would have been exposed to brainwashing their whole lives and as the Milgram Experiment proved people are very susceptible to being influenced by authority figures. Another thing is that the idea of the government trying to take Jude out was a bit absurd. It is true that the local police have frequently been known to aid the FLDS especially when and if they have family members in those communities and that it can be hard for people trying to escape to get help from the legal system. The government has mostly ignored polygamy since The Raid on Short Creek in the 50's. But that was a bit extreme. A lot of the movie seemed like a fantasy especially at the end when they try to expose the prophet through a live video feed and when Jude tries to shoot at the prophet. I think it would have been a better movie if it were more similar to one of the actual life stories of some of the woman who have escaped the FLDS. If Church of Lies by Flora Jessop were made into a movie that would be really interesting and more educational for the public if the producers stuck to the facts there wouldn't be anything people could object to in the content.
Review of Follow the Prophet
