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.

OK , first of all i must admit i am not the type that likes deep drama arty farty movies so i expected not much from this but you never know when you get to watch another Dancer in the Dark or Trainspotting and the music looked tempting so i gave it a shot.

If you want to know what the movie is about read the other reviews , they cover it way better than i ever could but i simply had to write something here to let the world know this is worth the effort.

Funny , gritty , painful with a storyline that reminded me of Charles Bukowski. As a metalhead i of course liked the movie and Hesher reminds me of some of my mates. Bit rough on the edges but real and good people . Finally a writer who looks past the clichés of metal morons. Of course the brilliant acting helps a lot . I admit you have to work at the movie but it sure is worth it in the end . Go watch this movie , i assure you it will make you laugh and it will make you think and don't we wish we had more of those flicks to see

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.

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 :-)

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.