The Lesser Blessed is a movie about a Native American teenage boy, Larry Sole, in a small Canadian town, who is lonely, depressed, and bullied. He is raised by a single mother and her boyfriend is his hero. Larry Sole laments the loss of his traditional heritage; yet, he has a crush on a non-native girl, Juliet Hope. His family appears to be the only natives in town. When the characters refer to the boy’s tribal affiliation, it sounds as though they are saying, “Dogwood,” but when researching information about the author of The Lesser Blessed, Richard Van Camp, the spelling is Dogrib.
Larry Sole and/or his mother may have suffered domestic abuse from his father. The movie shows unclear flashbacks of a fight in a fire. Larry Sole may killed his own father to stop the abuse from happening again. This is the secret that a bully holds over Larry’s head. Towards the end of the movie, the bully spreads the secret all over school. This movie is based on a novel of the same name. Perhaps the book would communicate what happened to him and his mother more clearly than this movie.
A new teenage boy in Larry’s class, Johnny Beck, befriends, protects, and exploits him. Through his friendship with Johnny, he is invited to parties and uses drugs for the first time. On one occasion, he comes home late and his mother’s boyfriend, Jed, confronts him. His mother tells her boyfriend to let it go. The boyfriend wants to be a father figure to Larry, but his mother won’t let him. Larry asks his mother why she won’t marry Jed, but she never gives an answer. When asked about sensitive topics, Larry tells stories or parables in order to change the discussion. Both Larry and his mother are avoiding their feelings about the domestic abuse that may have been carried out by his father.
This movie, The Lesser Blessed, is also about a love triangle. Larry is in love with Juliet, but Juliet immediately chooses Johnny shortly after he arrives at their school. Through his friendship with Johnny, Larry has more contact with Juliet.
The movie, The Lesser Blessed, is a coming-of-age story about teenagers dealing with bullying, violence, drugs, sex, romance, pregnancy, death, suicide, and taking accountability for one’s actions. This movie does contain images of drug use and sexual situations. Parents can watch the movie before allowing their teens to watch it.
Check with your local library to find out if it has an account with Hoopla. If so, you can create an account with your library card information in order to borrow electronic videos of movies and television shows, e-books, e-audiobooks, and e-music for free. There is a limit of 15 items borrowed per month. Reading the book, The Lesser Blessed, is an alternative to watching the movie.
This coming-of-age story is told from the perspective of a Dogrib Native American. In this story’s case, the author of the novel, The Lesser Blessed, is a Dogrib Native American. The loneliness one feels from being an outcast is relatable to anyone, who has ever been one. However, non-natives may not be able to relate to the loneliness of being a Native American, surrounded by non-natives. Larry laments not being a warrior as his heritage traditionally intended for him. Larry’s identity is also an issue within this story.
I am recommending this movie, The Lesser Blessed, for its Native American perspective on teenaged issues. However, some matters are unclear such as what really happened in Larry’s past that makes him so ashamed, depressed, and suicidal. If he killed his father in self-defense, he should not feel any shame at all. He had no choice. I have not read the book, The Lesser Blessed, by Richard Van Camp, but I feel that a book would provide more details and clarification than a movie.
Reference
The Lesser Blessed. Dir. Anita Doron. Perf. Benjamin Bratt, Kiowa Gordon, Chloe Rose, Joel Nathan Evans, and Tamara Podemski. Monterey Media Inc., 2012. Web. Hoopla. 27 November 2017.
Links:
The Lesser Blessed movie at MontereyMedia.com
The Lesser Blessed novel at Douglas & McIntyre’s website
Author biography for Richard Van Camp at Douglas & McIntyre’s website
Facts for Kids: Dogrib Indians at Bighorn.org
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