Little Glory

Writers John Engel and François Verjans and Director Vincent Lannoo have dished up this sad sack of a movie that has very little redeeming qualities. The focus is coming of age in America and the effects of abuse and near poverty on sibling relationships. It is a story that has been told before and likely will be told again: life on the wrong side of the tracks is tough and has negative effects on a pair of siblings.

No one is upset when abusive alcoholic Bill (Bruce Geduldig) drops dead, least of all his 19-year-old son, Shawn (Cameron Bright) and young daughter, Julie (Isabelle Blake- Thomas). Shawn's secretly grieving for his late mom, but isn't exactly the responsible type, stealing car parts with friend Matt (Martin Swabey). When their Aunt Monica (Astrid Whettnal) wants custody of Julie, Shawn balks, goes before a judge (John Flanders) to challenge that ploy, and the judge gives him a month's probationary period before making a decision about taking custody of Julie – and with it the life insurance money. The dialogue is raw and repetitive and that needed tiny beam of redemptive light fails to appear – even as Shawn pleads his case before the judge. But perhaps the strength of the film is that unspoken energy between older brother and younger sister that despite the motivation for Shawn's posturing for the life insurance and the custody, there still is a bonding between the two that is brighter on the side of Julie and of Shawn.

A small film that may make it on the small screen if the dialogue can get past the censors.

Shawn Bennett (Cameron Bright) is a slacker. He lives with his younger sister Julie and their abusive drunken widower father. When the father falls to his death on the construction site, he leaves behind an $100k life insurance policy for Julie and the truck for Shawn. Their aunt sues to take Julie away from the irresponsible Shawn. Meanwhile, he starts a relationship with Jessica (Hannah Murray).

I had hopes of liking Shawn for about ten seconds. His bullying father puts him squarely in the underdog position. Sadly, his personality gets into the way. Quite frankly, it boils down to the dog kicking scene. If you find Shawn endearing as he walks up to Jessica, you'd be fine liking the guy. I found him creepy and infuriating. I wished that Jessica stabbed him with a knitting needle. Maybe that would wake him up. He's got the sh17 eating grin and the superior attitude to boot. I guess he's white trash hot if that's your thing. Even with that, he's a wimpy white trash with some wimpy facial hairs and that's a more annoying subset. Jessica doesn't come off that well either. First, she's defending the dog being kicked and next, she's gaga losing her head over THIS GUY. This Guy? There's no accounting for taste. The main thing going for him is that he has friends and he loves his sister. He's not a terrible guy. He's whiny but not terrible. It's a wash as far as rooting interest goes. The justice scale is balanced between him and his aunt. Neither side poses any real danger and Julie's fine either way. Money is an issue but there are solutions to that. Just in case the movie hasn't made its point. Shawn throws out the stew in a childish spite. I get the idea of character development but he's a frustrating prick.

This still has some good in it. It's interesting to see him follow his father's footsteps. This is really a love story between Shawn and Julie. Jessica is more a distraction. I would zero in on the sibling relationship like a laser. That has some real emotional tension. There are other flaws but all that would go away if Shawn isn't such a prick. The love is there.