Jane and Emma

Jane and Emma breathes life into the real-life friendship of Jane Manning and Emma Smith. This important film examines their friendship within its complex matrix of history fraught with racism, the murder of the prophet Joseph, his polygamy and the strain of Emma's marriage. The deep friendship Jane and Emma, shown in the movie and based from the historical papers each woman left behind, is a telling passage, a cut from the cloth they were made of, a pieced quilt, stitched together through mutual trial and tenderness. This thoughtfully created, written, and filmed work bears the collaborative efforts of many artists, but ultimately it is Jane's story that speaks loudest- it is her time to be seen.

Visually, this is exactly the kind of movie I like to watch: American-made, historical, close-up details of the way people lived and dressed. However, story-wise, I was expecting a lot more. I didn't know this history of the LDS church before I watched it, so that might not have helped my opinion. But really nothing actually happened in this movie; no great progress was made; it was hard to tell what the main conflict/storyline was. And the ONE detail that MOST distracted me throughout the ENTIRE movie was that Emma was wearing so much makeup! At this time in history, women of good reputation did not wear makeup; so it was super distracting from the movie's attempt at historical accuracy to see a woman with really bronze blush and dark lipstick visibly caked on her face.

Jane and Emma did not disappoint. A powerful and moving film that brought history to life. Important conflicts and themes that we still face today were well portrayed throughout the film. The actor's emotions were very convincing and the overall production was professional and enjoyable to watch.

I was really looking forward to a story about Jane and Emma's friendship. What I was NOT expecting was for it to be told against the background of the immediate day after Joseph's death. What a depressing time that was for a *all* the Saints, not just Emma and immediate family and friends. This made the overall tone of the movie rather dark when I was looking for something more uplifting. That being said, it was a good movie and the acting was good. Had I been able to watch it first in the theater or on Netflix, I probably would not have bought it. Since the only way for me to see this movie was to buy it sight unseen, I did. It will probably be a long time before I watch it again.

JANE AND EMMA may be a low budget production but it has a lot of creative strengths that make this an exceptional exploration of two strong women in the early history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Danelle Deadwyler brings great strength to the role of Jane Manning James, a black woman who after joining the Church desires to meet the prophet Joseph Smith (well played by Brad Schmidt) and in doing so becomes a close friend of his wife Emma Hale Smith (Emily Goss). The film focuses on Jane spending the night with Emma following the murder of Joseph and his brother Hyrum. During the course of the night Emma struggles with the feeling that her request for Joseph to return to Nauvoo led to his death while Jane wonders what her place as a black woman in the restored Church is. Deadwyler and Gross give powerful performances with a script by Melissa Leilani Larson that gives the viewer a great deal to think about and ponder. One of the greatest strengths of this film is the superb cinematography by Wesley Johnson which masterfully uses creative close-ups in the wide screen format. The lighting of the Nauvoo house at night by candlelight seems real. The musical score is extremely effective. JANE AND EMMA raises the bar as to what can be done with limited funds and a great deal of creativity. Most of this creativity from the directing and screenplay and the performances has come from women.