What could have been excellent is bogged down by a disjointed plot
If there’s one thing North American cinema always needs more of it’s well-written stories about indigenous people. We’re talking about narratives that acknowledge the tremendous diversity among the millions of First Nations Métis Inuit and American Indians that live in Canada and the United States; author Thomas King calls such people “live Indians” as opposed to the “dead” ones that are trapped in the mythical realm of braids Pocahontas and white saviours.
The Lesser Blessed had a great chance of telling that important contemporary narrative. The coming-of-age story is based in the Northwest Territories and features an aboriginal actor playing a lead aboriginal character (which in the wake of The Lone Ranger is unfortunately noteworthy). Issues that statistically plague native people at a higher level than non-natives — poverty domestic abuse and teenage pregnancy — anchor the story.
But it fails on almost all counts as an engaging film. Clichés abound: the decade’s most awkward love triangle this side of The Hunger Games is obvious within minutes while the film regrettably relies on slow-motion to add some semblance of tension to fight scenes. Larry the young protagonist ends up in a tragic spiral by — you guessed it — smoking some reefer with a douche wearing a glow-stick necklace who eventually punches him out. It all plays out like a corny anti-drug PSA.
The cinematography was admittedly impressive with gorgeous aerial shots documenting the tundra of the North (which was actually Sudbury Ontario oddly enough). Hot-knifing weed has never looked better. Nor have explosions taking a bath or — thanks to a combo of the aforementioned — brutal scars. Tree of Life -inspired flashbacks attempt to explain the backstory but they end up like the rest of the film: a scattershot of pretty pictures without any real explanation.
The actors evidently tried their best. Although untrained Joel Evans plays the part of Larry well; it’s tough to tell if the awkwardness darting eyes and over-the-top baked face that Evans exhibits is intentional but it creates an intriguing and largely believable portrayal of an aimless teen. Still in the end the script loses any of its potential: cheesy phrases like “God-shaped hole” are uttered in all seriousness and monologues that should’ve packed a punch feel bizarrely artificial.
The Lesser Blessed is a by-the-books drama that leaves an unfair amount unanswered; a lot of potentially interesting plot points are set up but there’s next to no effort to connect the dots to say something meaningful. It’s like Claire’s obsession with origami in Netflix’s House of Cards — poetic in concept but dreadful in execution — ultimately suggesting that the writer didn’t know how to give the tale value. It’s a pity: there was young talent in the cast and a significant story still waiting to be told.
