Sharon Ready in the new documentary Gloriavale, in cinemas now.
There are certainly shades of the addictive true crime documentary formula that has swept the world in the buzzed-about New Zealand/Australia co-production Gloriavale. From its handsome, wintry cinematography to its eerie use of archival footage of the religious sect's early days, all smiling faces and children playing.
It's one of
our nation's darkest persistent issues, and one asked regularly by the lawyers and ex-members profiled here - how is a country with such a positive and progressive disposition allow the continued existence of a place such as Gloriavale?
Over the course of 90 minutes, film-makers Noel Smyth and Fergus Grady dive deep into the experiences of two excommunicated members and their ongoing legal battles for justice.
It's a fast-moving but well-paced work, thrumming with urgency and blessed with remarkable access. Specifically, the profiling of current Gloriavale member Sharon Ready and one-time member of the Shepherds (the leaders of Gloriavale) Zion Pilgrim provide bombshell moments of revelation.
Ready's remarkable bravery and heart-rending testimony become the tormented backbone of the film, providing a soulfulness that allows the film to reach greater heights than your standard true-crime fare.
