The Least Among You tells the story of Richard Kelly, a young black man arrested during the 1965 Watts riots, who is serving probation by attending an all white seminary. The story chronicles his journey of adapting to life in the seminary. Kelly never wanted to attend seminary, and didn’t know what he believed about God. He certainly hadn’t bargained for an all white seminary that was opposed to the idea of integration. The plot ultimately centers around his need to decide whether violence or peace, truth or lies are the best answer to the challenges he faces.
To be honest, I didn’t like the movie. It was dark – not just in theme, but in the way it was shot. Every scene was dim and grey. The story was not the most compelling of racial integration stories, and moved almost painfully slowly. But most confusingly, it suffered from loose ends and unexplained details. A topic was introduced, and then not followed through. I was left with questions – what happened to Richard’s mother? What about the drug money? Why was it important to know that the president of the seminary had lost a son and had a wife who was severely depressed. The filmmakers of The Least Among You had the chance to tell a compelling story that all those who have experienced that moment of questioning God’s calling and action could relate to. Unfortunately, their story was lost in a myriad of rabbit trails and suffered from mediocre execution of the storytelling.
note: The Least Among You was provided to me as a free review copy from booksneeze.com.
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