Little Glory (2011)

Little Glory: Directed by Vincent Lannoo. With Cameron Bright, Isabella Blake-Thomas, Hannah Murray, Astrid Whettnall. Little Glory is a present-day emotional coming of age drama set partly in a small town in Michigan. Its somber and realistic plot centers around sibling relationships and custodial matters.

“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).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI 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, youu0026#39;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. Heu0026#39;s got the sh17 eating grin and the superior attitude to boot. I guess heu0026#39;s white trash hot if thatu0026#39;s your thing. Even with that, heu0026#39;s a wimpy white trash with some wimpy facial hairs and thatu0026#39;s a more annoying subset. Jessica doesnu0026#39;t come off that well either. First, sheu0026#39;s defending the dog being kicked and next, sheu0026#39;s gaga losing her head over THIS GUY. This Guy? Thereu0026#39;s no accounting for taste. The main thing going for him is that he has friends and he loves his sister. Heu0026#39;s not a terrible guy. Heu0026#39;s whiny but not terrible. Itu0026#39;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 Julieu0026#39;s fine either way. Money is an issue but there are solutions to that. Just in case the movie hasnu0026#39;t made its point. Shawn throws out the stew in a childish spite. I get the idea of character development but heu0026#39;s a frustrating prick.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis still has some good in it. Itu0026#39;s interesting to see him follow his fatheru0026#39;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 isnu0026#39;t such a prick. The love is there.”