Hesher

Dark. Very, very dark, and profane, and vulgar, and raw, and rough, and funny and sacrilegious and did I mention vulgar. But I loved it! It's real life. This film yields one the most interesting discussions about how God is speaking through films. A fracked-up family. A pryomaniacal, head-banging, angel of death. A sweet and sexy grocery clerk. And Metallica music… what more do you need? This film is Psalm 88. It's a boy screaming to the heavens, "Why God? Where are You? Why don't you help me?" It's a once happy and bright life ruined by a car wreck. A mother killed. A son trying to be a man. A father dealing with depression. And a strange, reluctant "savior" that brings the family to the precipice of death; and life.

I think the greatest theme in this film comes when Hesher says he lost a (body part), but he has another one. Yes, the boy lost his mom, and his dad his wife, but they still have each other. Life is completely messed up, but we have each other.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Natalie Portman, Rainn Wilson, Devin Brochu: beautifully acted. This film is the epitome of Beauty from Ugliness, Life from Death, Sacred from Profane.

Hesher is an interesting movie with a surprisingly upbeat, positive, and warm message at it's core. Hesher himself, while aptly acted, is a vulgar, heavy metal, chaotic, force of seeming destruction. He is essentially a plot device created to facilitate emotional growth and change in the lives around him. Some people will clearly A) Be entirely too dense to grasp this concept, B) Judge it entirely on it's vulgarity, thus ignoring it's message, or C) Understand it and appreciate it for what it is.

Whereas some movies rely on overly positive, loving, compassionate, understanding, and patient characters to get it's point across, "Hesher" doesn't just deviate from that...it takes a huge steamy dump on it. It's a symbol that not everyone needs group therapy to get over a personal crisis. That your world won't end without some prophetic angelic figure gracing you with it's presence. Instead, it shows you the depths of anger and chaos. It shows you that you really CAN just...do it. Whether "it" is getting out of bed and choosing to start life anew, or to trash a backyard and set a swimming pool on fire. The emphasis is that if you just ignore the consequences, perceived or literal, at least you DID SOMETHING. To me that is a fantastic message, regardless of how abstract or vulgar it's portrayed.

As to the movie itself, Hesher was played amazingly well. Joseph Gordon-Levitt played the character straight without it feeling cliché. You never quite know what his character will do, be it a seemingly offensive yet benign act that sets off a series of reactions that result in a positive conclusion, or setting a car on fire. It could be throwing explosives out a window, or helpfully picking up broken dish ware off the carpet. T.J. (Devin Brochu) nails the feeling of "angst", and has some pretty awesome rage moments you normally don't see from child actors. The father (Rainn Wilson) does a fair job as a broken down, depressed father, who's completely at a loss as to what to do and is so consumed by his own depression he ignores his child. It's similar to his character in "Super", not his best performance, but well performed. The grandmother "Piper Laurie" is very pleasant as a loving, kind, gentle figure. As for Natalie Portman's character, she seemed more of an inclusion just to further the concept of "Hesher" than a fully flushed out character. While her acting was spot on, it wasn't entirely necessary nor was her plot. She's hot though, so it's easy to let go.

Ultimately this is a feel good movie in a Heavy Metal package. It has some, albeit vulgar, prolific metaphors for life that when thought over are actually spot on. You have to be able to set aside your offense, and see it for the touching movie it is to be able to enjoy it. I honestly felt that it's message was very heartfelt and sincere. If any of this sounds interesting, then watch "Hesher". If it sounds terrible, well, it's probably not for you.

I feel compelled to write a review on this film, but I'm just not sure what to focus on or how to outline what I loved about it. The story is so unique, and so left of centre, that it's very hard to describe, let alone break down and review. When attempting to describe it to a friend, I found it very difficult, as it just sounds so crazy. It makes one think, how could this be that enjoyable. All I could really say was, 'you have to watch this film!', as it made me smile, laugh and connect, from opening scene to closing credits.

After seeing the trailer for this, I was immediately interested. Mainly because of the crazy, ab-lib, don't-give-a-s**t nature of Hesher, actually reminded me of a friend, and this friend's antics and philosophy on life always amuse me, and more often than not, enlighten me to how this crazy world can be, and how you really shouldn't take things so seriously. Having such excitement for an upcoming film, you can quite often be let down. Luckily for me Hesher stood up, and was everything I hoped it would be, and more.

I found the story to be simply brilliant. So random and unpredictable you never really knew where it was going, or what was going to happen next. I loved the way in which Hesher makes he's first appearance in the film, and how he somehow, without trying (so it seems), finds he's place in Grandma's home. The dialogue was simply gold and oh so funny at times, that it made me want to re-watch the film as soon as it concluded, to pick up on the quick wit and laugh all over again. The scene at the pool was definitive for me. So funny and so strange. I couldn't help but enjoy and admire the way Hesher went about things in that scene, letting himself completely go, without a fear of consequence. Acting on he's most primal impulse. Not so much in anger, but in freedom, and having fun at the expense of a few 'versatile solutions for modern living'.

Hesher is an amazing character, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt is brilliant. This might sound ridiculous to some, but I think it was worthy of an award, as this is a true embodiment of a character. There is no Joseph Gordon-Levitt in this film, there's only Hesher. I haven't seen that many of Joseph's movies, but I do remember '500 Days Of Summer', and this is polar opposites as far as role is concerned, and not many actors could make such a leap, convincingly. I also became a fan of Natalie Portman after this. I love the fact she took on a role that was so different. Her character's plainness, honesty, and self-confessed faults, made her simply beautiful to watch throughout. Devin Brochu as the main boy which the story revolves around is amazing. He's level of dramatic execution is spot on in every scene, and he's so believable as TJ. The film has such rich characters, which are all played to perfection. The Grandma is also worthy of a mention, providing so much love to an otherwise somewhat tragic story.

This film manages to mix humour, sadness and heart like very few films can. Its films like this that can pick people up and put them back on their feet. It actually made me feel better about life, and less worried about the ridiculous incidentals that can make us anxious and get us down. I'm not sure how this film managed to tap into such thoughts and emotions, but somehow it did. There is no comparative circumstance in the film for me, nor is there an obvious message that everyone can relate to, it is simply a story with colourful characters, with simple lives, told in such a unique and crazy way, that for some reason you commit to it and totally embrace it, only to feel on top of the world for having done so.

It's hard to really describe a movie like Hesher. At first it comes off as this bizarre comedy, but as the film goes along it becomes more and more this character study of a chaotic force coming into the life of a family that needs it more than they think. Joseph Gordon-Levitt's titular character is a psychopath, a heavy metal loving maniac who uses foul language at the most inappropriate times, flies off the handle with violence and pyromania and generally frightens anyone who sees him. He invites himself into the home of the Forneys without a word and no one tells him to leave or, more realistically, calls the police.

This concept is a little off-putting at first and gave me some slight trouble getting into the story, but once the film started to develop it became more and more...honest, in a strange way. They didn't tell him to leave because subconsciously they knew that they needed him. At first it seems like he's there for a home and a place to do laundry (the character is introduced living in a construction site) but later on we realize that he doesn't need them at all. He's a drifter in the wind, somehow helping these people that he comes into contact with despite initially seeming like the worst person you would ever want around. The concept is still a little too bizarre and the final act gets way too melodramatic and schmaltzy, but the film hit me a lot more honestly and emotionally than I was expecting it too.

I've always admired Levitt as one of the finest actors of his generation, but even I didn't think he could pull off a role like this. Boy, I was wrong to doubt him, because he is on fire the whole way through. Hilarious, terrifying and somehow heartfelt, he makes this character incredibly real, which is probably the biggest surprise of all. Natalie Portman also manages to impress in a supporting role as a shopgirl that Hesher and our young protagonist T.J. (a mature child performance from Devin Brochu) come into contact with. She grounds the film in some ways, being the most honest and human character, and she has a breakdown in her car with T.J. that is pretty wrenching.

I'm always kind of off-put by films where people in their late twenties somehow befriend ten year-olds and no one calls the police or anything, but this is one of the rare ones that allowed me to get past that initial gripe and eventually respect it for the solid character study that it is.

Seriously, I was not expecting this movie to be great. Somehow, when I saw the trailer, I knew I would enjoy it, but I definitely wasn't ready for what was to come. And that huge surprise made it even more amazing for me.

The movie is a drama about life with amusing bits of humor. About pain. About letting go and moving on. And as many good movies as there are, based on the same or similar ideas,this one really stands out. The reason for that is the VERY original element in the movie - the character - Hesher. He is a totally typical metal head, who doesn't give a rat's ass about anything. It's all about beer, sex and rock & roll for him. So you can imagine how impossible it seems for such a character to be someone's guru. And here he is exactly that. And if that doesn't sound impressive, then I don't know what does. It really is enjoyable to see a little kid learn about life from the experience being together with a metal-head, who doesn't play by anyone's rules but his own. And throughout the whole movie this crazy character never says anything even remotely polite or appropriate, always swears, and makes a lot of comments based on sex or violence, etc. So, in a way, his character is absolutely unique for both his absolute imperfection, and his ability to enlighten people in the most absurd way possible. And Joseph Gordon-Levitt did a fantastic job portraying him. This is, by far, one of his greatest performance's. Natalie Portman, on the other hand, this time did not shine as she does in most of her roles. But this is only because her character is not so important and dynamic and gets little on screen time. Because her acting IS flawless, as always, just that this time there was no way to really express her performing abilities here. And it's absolutely wonderful to see how the main character 'T.J.' is superbly portrayed by Devin Brochu, in my opinion,- a star waiting to get spotted.

It's beautiful for the drama. It's cool and funny for the insane character - Hesher. It's important for it's message. I definitely recommend this, especially to people, who are in need of comforting and are searching for a break.