Hesher

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.

A raucous take on your typical indie coming-of-age film, "Hesher" paints a portrait of grief and coping with adversity using a diverse palette of humor, sadness, rage, depression and raunch. Certain types will find a good degree of truth to writer/director Spencer Susser's tonal chaos, while others will raise eyebrows, but a part of "Hesher" will resonate with everyone.

Devin Brochu stars as T.J., who from the opening scene makes it clear he's trying to get himself killed at some point during the film. He's a bit reckless, and as it turns out he and his father (Rainn Wilson) are grieving for his mother, who died just a couple months before.

T.J's troubles lead him to an unfortunate encounter with a probably homeless chain-smoking metal rocker later to be introduced as Hesher (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who needless to say plays delightfully against type here.) Turns out that Hesher is about 10 times as reckless as T.J. and in a more brutal and calculating way. He follows T.J. to school, which scares the crap out of him, yet we can only assume it is Hesher who draws indecent images in permanent marker on the car of an older student bullying T.J.

Eventually, Hesher comes over uninvited and unannounced to T.J's grandmother's house, where T.J and his father are staying. He inserts himself aggressively yet peacefully into their home and becomes their guest over time, developing a friendship with the grandmother and taking a sort of tough-love mentorship of T.J.

We are to presume that the senility of the grandmother and the lifeless apathy of the pill- popping father lead to a casual acceptance of Hesher's newfound presence in their home. It's a significant leap, but Susser and his co-writers are much more preoccupied with creating this unlikely relationship between T.J. and Hesher that logistics take a back seat. Fortunately, the blunt humor spouted off by Hesher, who communicates almost exclusively in sexual metaphors, helps mask the plot's illogical backbone.

Although never explicitly stated, it becomes obvious that Hesher wishes to teach T.J. how to stick up for himself, and more importantly how not to fear the consequences. This, of course, is not the world view of an kid in his early teens, and it leads to several emotional whirlwinds for T.J. as he starts to come of age.

The script treats T.J. like an adult despite not being one: he curses regularly (which gets worse with Hesher around), he makes friends with people twice his age such as the grocery clerk at the local store (Natalie Portman) and in general he deals with things kids his age would rather not deal with. It's a bit ridiculous, but it does make for an interesting dynamic between him and Hesher.

At its core, "Hesher" is about dealing with "the ____ that happens to you," which begins to explain why in some scenes it's just Hesher breaking stuff, or T.J. breaking stuff, or conversely a slow and quiet dramatic and emotional scene such as when T.J. and his dad go to a grief support group. Each character handles it differently, and Hesher's purpose in the story is to shake up the way T.J and his father have handled with it so far with regards to the death of the mother.

Susser definitely punches home this message, but it comes through the thick clouds of X- rated humor and with scenes strung together without any cohesive tone. The heavy metal indie image that the film wants to give off doesn't necessarily gel with everything it wants to say. Certain moments are laugh-out-loud hysterical, while others are moving. Then some just feel weird. It's definitely a film that will connect with its audience, but its wired in an awkward way that will likely turn off some viewers.

~Steven C

Thanks for reading! Please visit my site moviemusereviews.com

Simply put, Hesher is an exploration of loss: a universal experience shared by the film's characters: a nihilistic head-banging arsonist named Hesher (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a supermarket clerk with thick-rimmed eyeglasses and financial troubles named Nicole (Natalie Portman) who doesn't like being called "lady", a depressed widower named Paul (Rainn Wilson) who takes pills and sleeps all day, and a boy named T.J (Devin Brochu) who recently lost his mother, has a crush on an older woman, and is constantly bullied at school.

There are equal moments of humor and sorrow that bring a unique balance to the film. The best way I can talk about a film is by talking about the particular moments that stood out and made it such a beautiful picture. There is a particular scene where TJ and Paul go to a self help group to help cope with their loss that is one of the most brutally realistic and painful, yet beautiful scenes I have seen on film. Seeing these people talk about their grief was like watching real people as opposed to actors. That is how good the performances are.

Aside from well-executed emotion-drenching scenes such as that one, there are also real subtle touches in the dialogue between the characters that I rarely see in other films. There is a tender scene where Nicole saves T.J. from a bully. After offering him a ride home, she confesses that the reason she helped was because she didn't want to turn on the news that night and see that a young boy was beaten to death in a parking lot. She really did it for herself so she wouldn't feel guilty later and she apologizes for being selfish like that. The irony here being that that the fact she would feel guilty about something like that makes her a good person and someone who really wants to help.

There is great acting from all involved, particularly Levitt, Wilson, and Brochu. Levitt's actor shows hardly any emotion but there is a particular scene involving a close up where you can gradually see his eyes water as his heart breaks. Wilson continues to impress. He was great in Super and was amazingly real here as well. His heartache and apathy is devastating to watch and shows you how much pain he is in. But the best performance comes from Devin Brochu. He is amazingly good for someone that young. To be able to incorporate a character so completely and fearlessly is amazing to watch. The audience feels for this young boy and you wish someone would just come in and help him. The world is very dangerous for a child and you root for T.J. and hope he overcomes all the troubles he faces.

All in all, Hesher is a great film that is at the same time both hilarious and moving.

P.S. Best soundtrack ever. 80's Metallica throughout. Battery, Jump in The Fire, Motorbreath, etc.

I admit, it is a taboo for crewmen on a film to make a comment about it... sometimes you can be sued and can often breed bad mojo. However, I extend my neck on the chopping block for this film because not only because a few months of my life were spent on 14+ hours days with this cast/ crew/ and director but it was a... unique... project.

This was an unusual film to work on. Start with a Writer/Director who's fervently passionate about his work (...okay, I've seen that before) but with a twist. Add an almost impossible idealism in a man of school boy enthusiasm whose facial expression varied between, "I won the girl of my dreams," "Yeah, that's it... but do it again(and again)" to watching that hopeful idealism melt away as though you just told the persevering child that ha-ha you won't be an astronaut but rather a feeble emasculated yes man to a control freak wife. To say the Director was passionate about making his story real, real meaning matching that fully developed story that had vividly existed in the inner invaginations of his brain for years, doesn't begin to convey the sheer depth of it.

Firstly, the cast was phenomenal. Mr. Wilson especially was an amazing actor to watch perform. It is a subtle character of nominal lines but without a word he was able to convey an impressive character. The production could not have hoped for a better casting in this part.

Mr. Levitt was, as I believe most already know, a pro. His professionalism and seemingly innate ability to portray his character, to bring his character to life, was amazing to watch and a pleasure to work with.

Now we come to Devin as T.J. The lengths this gentleman was put to was intense. Yet never a complaint. Brushed himself off, caught his breath, and did it again. My compliments to Devin for his amazing dedication to his character and this film. I've never seen a new actor his age work so hard, diligently, and without complaint.

Now to the film. The script is not easy to read, painful in fact as the dialog slaps you in the face at least every other line. I confess I had my apprehensions at first... it seemed just too much.

However, these apprehensions faded as the type of the script was performed to the mind's eye of the Director and Cast. This film is very much about the not said, but the movements/ actions/ expressions. The subtle, and the beneath the surface story that is so much closer to truth and reality and than the superficial first glance.

Look at the typeface only, and the superficial facade of the characters will be all you see and doing so will fall nicely in line with the design of the characters' protective layers. Scratch deeper, or simply pay attention to what the characters are really portraying... The moorings and underpinnings in these characterizations, and how they combine into the plot, gives a profound yet simplistic look at human behavior and how people cope with identity, loss, and the need to be loved.

My hat off to this amazing cast, it's crew, and Mr. Susser.

For a film like this you've really got to ask what you want. A lot of people I know might not like it or really get it. I was looking for something a bit different to watch by myself, to engorge myself in. It's properly crude (in US terms) but that's kind of the point I think. I watch a lot of films and this one made me register to IMDb as I think it's probably under-rated. The acting is GOOD throughout. The cast is good (especially the kid...if the kids in Harry Potter were half that good we'd see them a lot in movies in the future...we won't) and the vibe is excellent. It's original without trying too hard and it didn't make me feel like I'd seen this film before. The other reviews seem to sum up the premise pretty much so I won't bother. I think this film could've gone bad many times over but the quality of it holds it together. It's a bit odd, a bit wrong, a bit sad, funny, witty, intelligent, brave and charming. I may be over egging this pudding but this film very nearly slipped under my radar and I'm very glad it didn't. When I'm hunting I reckon this is the kind of review I'd like to read to fire me up a bit. Eternal Sunshine meets No country for old men......or something :-)