Under the Banner of Heaven
A bleak, multi-timeline crime drama that exposes religious fanaticism’s dark side, anchored by Andrew Garfield’s performance.
Date: September 26, 2022
Series: Under the Banner of Heaven (2022)
This series left me conflicted as well. Andrew is, once again, phenomenal—exactly as expected. He gets a completely different character here but brings all his subtle tools: restraint, inner turmoil, faith and doubt all at once. I love watching him work, and it is a shame we will not see him in anything new for a while.
As for the show itself, I felt two things simultaneously. One part of me was glued to the investigation, desperate to know how the murder storyline would unfold. The other part wanted to run away because the atmosphere is so suffocating and dense.
The backbone of the story is that faith—or rather the religious environment—provides an explanation for everything the characters do. At some point you simply cannot understand how anyone can be this blinded. Early on it is not overdone; the first episode merely sets the pieces on the board. But as the plot moves forward, the fanaticism ripens and then rots: we see how people justify every atrocity “in God’s name,” from domestic abuse to polygamy to murder. It is genuinely repulsive.
The series builds slowly and deliberately. Alongside the murder investigation it keeps feeding us the religious, historical, and family background—uncertainty, alienation, schisms, racism, and the eternal question of where divine mandate ends and human evil or hunger for power begins. It feels like a difficult puzzle: so many pieces are thrown at you, and you cannot immediately place them all.
What did not help me was the constant jumping in time. Flashbacks, multiple timelines, and even the visions experienced by Andrew’s character stack up until it is overwhelming. More than once I found myself wondering when we were and how everyone was related. This is definitely a series to watch with a clear head and your full attention, not as background noise.
Overall it is a 7/10 for me. During the first three episodes I was mostly fumbling in the dark; around episode four the show finally started to click, and I stopped asking, “Why is this important?” Once the threads began to intersect, it became more enjoyable, because you could see what pushed each character to such extremes.
So: outstanding lead actor (Andrew carries the whole thing), a crushing setting, an intriguing story—but not an easy watch.