I Am Elizabeth Smart - Review

Child trafficking is such a cruel act that should not be put on any child. Unfortunately,

nearly 1.2 million children are trafficked each year. In 2002, Elizabeth Smart was one of those

children. Smart is a survivor. She went through things no 14 year old should ever have to go

through. And because of her remarkable story, many movies and documentaries were created to

bring awareness to not only her, but other children who are going through things she went

through. Many films were successful in telling Smart’s story, but it wasn’t until Lifetime (an

American cable channel) came out with a film that showed pretty much everything about Smart’s

story, and did not shy away from showing the dark acts that happened while she was in captivity.

I am going to be giving an evaluation on the film, I Am Elizabeth Smart. I will be breaking down

the film, and then giving background of the making of the film.

The film, I Am Elizabeth Smart, starts off with Elizabeth Smart narrating the story. The

setting then starts. Alana Boden plays Elizabeth Smart in the film. Smart lived in Salt Lake City

her whole life, and she enjoyed living there. Her family and friends made her so happy. She was

living her life to the fullest, but it was not until June 5, 2002 where her life would change

forever. She was in her bedroom laying in her bed in the middle of the night when a “family

friend” broke into her room and held her at knifepoint. His name was Brian David Mitchell,

played by Skeet Ulrich. Casting Ulrich was a great choice to play Mitchell. Smart said that when

she saw Ulrich in his costume, he and her kidnapper looked like twins; there was so much

resemblance. To relate back to the story, Mitchell worked for the Smart family, and they ended

up being super close friends with him, that was until this incident happened. Elizabeth was then

taken away from her house and moved to the woods. There is where she would mainly spend the

next nine months going through the worst of the worst. When Elizabeth arrived at Mitchell's
camp, she was met by Wanda Eileen Barzee, played by Deirdre Lovejoy. The main part of the

film takes place at this camp. The audience gets to know where Smart slept, where the three

individuals gathered water, and many other situations the audience gets familiarized with. As she

resides in her new, yet scary home, Mitchell forced Elizabeth to take a new name. Mitchell gave

her the name Esther, which is a name mentioned in the Old Testament. Mitchell does things to

Elizabeth that are very sensitive to viewers. The film is PG-13, but there are scenes that can be

triggering. To sum up those scenes, Mitchell starves, rapes, and even drugs Elizabeth. There are

scenes where you can obviously see Elizabeth being forced into drinking heavy alcohol during

meals. Most of these scenes were hard to watch, and the real Elizabeth Smart mentions the same

thing, and explains that she went through these things to keep her family safe. There was one

scene where Smart was trying to escape while Mitchell was out in Salt Lake City, and Barzee

was somewhere in the camp not paying any attention to her. What Elizabeth didn’t realize was

that Mitchell was just getting back. When he arrived, he saw Smart trying to loosen the chain

around her ankle. Mitchell caught her and held her at knifepoint once again, but this time, he

threatened that if she disobeyed again, he would kill her cousin, Olivia. From that threat, she

chose to endure through all what Mitchell and Barzee threw at her. And even though she went

through so many bad things, she maintained good faith that maybe someday she will survive

through this trial, and she will be able to return home to her family. Throughout the movie, she

would try to be on her best behavior, and pretend that she was interested in what Mitchell and

Barzee told her. We later learn that she remembered what they said so that for the future, she can

outsmart the two into doing something that she can use to her advantage in escaping or finding

help. Mitchell noticed her good behavior too, and rewarded her with going out in public, but

whenever she was able to go out, Mitchell and Barzee forced her to cover up her identity.
Elizabeth had to wear a veil that covered her hair, along with sunglasses (sometimes) and a sheet

that covered her mouth. Although this was a barrier for her with finding help, she went along

with it and adapted. There was one scene where she had the opportunity to go to a public library.

As the three went and sat down, a detective came to her table. This is where the audience felt the

suspense, because this could be her chance of finally returning home. Mitchell instantly grabbed

her thigh, hinting that she can not say anything. What was disappointing was that the detective

did not suspect anything, and so he walked away. As I watched this scene, I felt heartbroken and

thought, she was so close. Fortunately, the good ending was coming soon. Reaching to the end of

the film, Smart, and her kidnappers, journeyed to San Diego, California in September of 2002.

She then resided under a tarp to protect herself from the dry heat. There was a scene that took

place in February 2003, where Mitchell was gone for weeks, and left Barzee and Elizabeth with

little food and water. They were on the verge of dying when he finally returned home. When he

came home, Barzee was super mad. We later learn that he was in prison for breaking into a

church, and was held in a cell during those weeks he was missing from their camp. Fast forward

to March 12, 2003, where they returned to Utah. They arrived in Sandy, and went to the grocery

store to pick up a few things. As they were leaving, they were stopped by a couple who

recognized Mitchell from photos. The police soon arrived and Elizabeth was taken away from

the two people who made such a negative impact on her. She was then reunited with her parents

while she was at the hospital getting checked for any infection or injury her kidnappers may have

put on her. This scene was such a great scene. I cried seeing the relief Elizabeth showed as she

hugged her mother tightly, as if she did not want to let go. As the film comes to an end, Elizabeth

has confidence that she will sleep soundly in her own bedroom. Her mother was surprised
because she thought that Elizabeth would have some PTSD from the last time she slept in her

bed. And then, the film ends.

So many emotions filled my soul as I watched this film. The actors did such a fantastic

job in creating a film that was so accurate. Elizabeth Smart worked very heavily with this film.

She wanted to make sure that this film was as accurate as her actual story. After Elizabeth

viewed the film once, she found that the finished product was so accurate, that she did not want

to watch it again. When I watched the film, I found it super awesome that Elizabeth Smart

narrated the story. Having her be in the film helped it have more credibility to her true story. I

have watched a few documentaries about her, but this film was the most accurate I have seen

from all that I have seen. The director, Sarah Walker, is dedicated to telling stories through

female leads, and she was great at directing this film. Lifetime usually comes out with movies

that are not super good, but they nailed it with I Am Elizabeth Smart.

References

IMDB Editors. (2020). Sarah Walker. Retrieved April 9, 2021, from

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1016069/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm

Wiki Editors. (2020, December 22). I am Elizabeth Smart. Retrieved April 9, 2021, from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Elizabeth_Smart

Wiki Editors. (2021, March 29). Kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart. Retrieved April 7, 2021, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidnapping_of_Elizabeth_Smart