Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
Louis meets the Phelps family — the people at the heart of the controversial Westboro Baptist Church. The Phelps have rabid anti-homosexual beliefs, and often campaign at the funerals of American soldiers. They believe that every tragedy in the world is God's punishment for homosexuality.
Louis Theroux's documentary about the Westboro Baptist Church is a genuinely distinctive piece of journalism. The subject matter — the Phelps family and their extreme anti-gay picketing ministry — was startlingly singular at the time, and Theroux's disarming, gently persistent interview style draws out remarkable and unsettling candour from the family members, particularly the children raised inside the cult. The access he achieves and the human portraits he constructs give the film a novelty that stands out even within the crowded documentary landscape. Acting is not applicable in the traditional sense but Theroux himself is a compelling screen presence, and the family members are disturbingly vivid. Cinematography is functional observational-doc work — adequate but unremarkable. The plot follows a loose immersive structure that works well enough but lacks dramatic architecture. The ending lands with a quiet melancholy as Theroux reflects on the difficulty of reaching people locked inside a belief system, which is effective if not cathartic.