This movie isn’t the typical story of a child abduction case. Elizabeth didn’t die — she survived and lived to tell the tale. A current top 10 movie on Netflix, Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart has earned its rightful praise in my eyes. I watched this movie last week and was so captivated that I watched it all in one sitting (on a school night, might I add). If you are a fan of true-crime and documentaries, I encourage you to give this a try.
Elizabeth Smart, now 38 years old, was only 14 at the time of her kidnapping. This occurred in 2002 at her upscale home in Salt Lake City, Utah, most known for being the hub of Mormon life. What adds a unique twist, is that her sister, Mary Katherine, only nine at the time, was sleeping in the same room as her. Due to this, she was a key witness for the investigation, eventually being the piece that solved it all in the end. Still, because much of the initial investigation relied on the memory from a traumatized young girl, it’s no surprise that this wasn’t an easy case to crack.
I thoroughly enjoyed the mix of recent interviews and footage from the time of the crime. Elizabeth, Mary Katherine, their father, and the head investigator all were some of the notable people interviewed. As they are looking back on something that happened over twenty years ago, a combination of photos and videos from the initial scene help balance out their recollection of that fateful day’s events.
I have very little critiques of this. However, it was relatively short, being less than two hours. I would’ve loved to see this as a docuseries, as Netflix has a solid reputation of coming out with very compelling ones. I understand that maybe there wasn’t enough content to make it longer than simply a movie, though I would’ve loved to see something more, maybe detailing any similar religious-backed cases such as hers.
Despite the entertainment aspect of the movie, many of the themes and topics are sensitive and difficult. Specifically, this centers around sexual assault and abuse. Elizabeth Smart, even though she was saved, endured a traumatic handful of months under her captors. The Mormon faith holds strong, conservative beliefs around these topics, resulting in Elizabeth having a difficult time overcoming the mindset that what happened wasn’t actually her fault.
Today, she is the founder of the Elizabeth Smart Foundation. Per their website, they are a “women and survivor-led organization building a more compassionate society to end sexual violence.” She has put together a self-defense program, podcast episodes, and a survivor fund, all with the purpose of helping those with similar experiences as her learn to survive again in the world. After learning this, I was even more moved by Elizabeth as a person. She was able to overcome a traumatic event at such a young age, and not only thrive again, but use her experience as a hopeful platform for others.
To reiterate, if you are in need of a quickly captivating movie to watch, I would highly recommend Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart. Don’t just watch this as a form of pure entertainment. Learn from her experiences, and if you or a friend has been through anything remotely similar, check out her foundation link, which is included at the end of this article. Elizabeth wasn’t just a survivor of her attempted abduction — she was a survivor of the heinous acts committed against her, which has provided hope to millions of others around the world.
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