Documentary revisits Elizabeth Smart's 2002 Utah abduction

A new documentary, Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart, directed by Benedict Sanderson, presents Elizabeth Smart’s account of her 2002 abduction from her Utah bedroom when she was 14.

Smart was returned nine months later, and a local television station called her "Utah’s miracle." Her kidnapping of a well-loved Salt Lake City teenager set the stage for a national media circus.

Sanderson ties the story closely to Utah, showing the family’s efforts to find her and the depraved religious fanaticism of her abductors, Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee. The film is punctuated by expansive Utah landscapes meant to reunite Smart with the places she grew up in; it ends with her running up a mountaintop. Arty re-enactments that seek to build dread are judged less effective.

Smart, now 38 and an advocate for survivors of kidnapping and sexual abuse, is described as the film’s most compelling element. Her on-camera testimony is called devastating; recalling assaults she says, "If I can hold him off long enough, someone will rescue me." Reviewers note her resilience and good humor and say her life has returned to normal—she is now married with children. The film is not rated, runs 1 hour 31 minutes, and is available on Netflix.

Key Topics

Culture, Elizabeth Smart, Kidnapped Elizabeth Smart, Benedict Sanderson, Brian David Mitchell, Wanda Barzee