David Koresh, fictionalised
The tragedy of Waco is part of American mythology and now the subject of a series, writes Jennifer Platt
Taylor Kitsch was only 12 when the Waco, Texas, catastrophe happened and all he remembers is seeing a compound in flames on television.
Now he is the main star in Waco
— a six-part miniseries that looks back at the tragic events of 25 years ago, on April 9 1993. Kitsch plays David Koresh, leader of the Branch Davidians, the cult in the 51-day standoff with the FBI that ended with 76 people killed in the fatal fire that consumed the compound.
Writers/directors, brothers Drew and John Erick Dowdle, say they wanted to tell the story of what actually happened — not just the version that is part of American mythology. They want to correct misinformation on both sides — the FBI and the Branch Davidians. And yes, they succeed, up to a point.
The series is based on two biographies: A
Place called Waco by David Thibodeau (Branch Davidians survivor) and Stalling for Time: My Life as an FBI Hostage Negotiator by
Gary Noesner.
The series shows that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) descended on the Branch Davidian complex, Mount Carmel, with a warrant to search for illegal firearms the cult was accused of amassing and selling. The ATF federal agents were trigger-happy and fired first in a twohour shootout. Koresh pleaded with the ATF agents. He was shot and Mount Carmel was under siege. Several people were killed. When the FBI stepped in, the situation was volatile. It had escalated quickly.
The series then slows down — we get flashbacks. The Dowdles show us the people who make up the cult. So we get a few back stories of Koresh, his doubting right-hand man Steve Schneider (played superbly by Paul Sparks), the innocent and sweet-natured Thibodeau (Rory Culkin), and the wronged women in the cult — Koresh’s first wife Rachel (Melissa Benoist), her sister, Koresh’s other wife Michelle (Julia Garner) and Judy Schneider (Andrea Riseborough — not at all utilised enough and wasted in this small role).
Kitsch is good enough as Koresh. He emanates the leader’s energy and way with words, but there is something missing in his portrayal — the charisma that Koresh must have had to have such control over adults who blindly followed him.
The filmmakers also choose to tread lightly on the horrendous fact that he married 19 women — some girls as young as 12. The women are shown to blissfully fulfill the destiny of procreation that Koresh has outlined for them. He proclaims himself the Lamb of God and that a vision told him to sleep with the women — and that the men have to be celibate.
Judy is ecstatic to find herself impregnated by Koresh, her husband Steve, not surprisingly, not all that much. These are the small glimpses of disloyalty within the cult. However, it’s clear, via the lens, that our sympathies should lie with the Branch Davidians.
But then Michael Shannon walks in. Give him all the awards already. He carries the show in his capable, what I like to imagine, callused hands. Shannon’s FBI agent Noesner is the guy you’d like to have as a boss, president, dad, chairman of your body corporate. He is understanding, patient and clever. He only loses his cool when people’s lives are in danger and his fellow FBI agents are cavalier shitheads.
His job is to understand Koresh and the Branch Davidians and negotiate with them to get everyone out alive. The viewer finally has someone to root for. But things don’t go according to plan and both sides get frustrated. There are plenty of mistakes.
The outcome, sadly, cannot be changed. Newly appointed US Attorney General Janet Reno gave the go-ahead for the FBI to attack the Branch Davidians and most of the cult members died in the fire that consumed the compound. The FBI investigated and their report was that Koresh and his followers caused the fire.
Many disagree and say the military-grade teargas used by the FBI started the fire.
The complex story is well told by the brothers Dowdle.
It’s clear, via the lens, that our sympathies should lie with the Branch Davidians