A young boy has lost his mother and is losing touch with his father and the world around him. Then he meets Hesher who manages to make his life even more chaotic.

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marciarealestate from United States
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I saw "Hesher" at Sundance and your review is so far off the mark it is unbelievable. "Hesher" IS very original and very funny. It will also leave a lump in your throat. Believe me, I saw 12 films at Sundance and "Hesher" was far and away the best. Perhaps your reviewer was confused because "Hesher" is really both funny and serious and a clever script nails it on both counts. From the first frame until the ending, there is not one dull moment and the cast is fabulous. At first, the character "Hesher" is sort of not likable but the way that Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays him, with a ' Cary Grant-ish' twinkle in his eye and his tongue placed firmly in his cheek, you can't help but cheer for this twisted rocker. The rest of the cast is a really great ensemble...you want ORIGINAL! They are all playing "against type." Besides Joseph Gordon-Levitt's captivating performance there is Natalie Portman, playing a homely looser without self esteem. She is so good you would never dream that this poor thing is a major movie star. Then there is Rainn Wilson playing a part so totally different than his 'Dwight Schroot' on the 'Office" that, with the beard he wears, most people will not even know it's him. He plays a man that is so devistated by his recent loss that he hasn't really decided if he wants to keep on living or not. A wonderfully touching performance by an actor known mainly as a doofus on a TV show. Devin Brochu, who plays the young boy T.J., doesn't seem like he's acting at all. A great job of directing by Spencer Susser is evident by the way he has molded this young actor, with very little experience, into a character who's pain you can feel. Lastly, kudos are in order for Piper Laurie, the attractive young leading lady of yore (she played Paul Newman's girlfriend in the "Hustler") and more recently was the witch of a mother in "Carrie", who makes the grandmother who is slowly loosing her marbles, a great friend and confidant of Hesher. The two of them, the near-Alzheimerland grandma and the wild and crazy (like a fox) Hesher are two very unlikely philosophers that have not been seen before in any film that I recall. If that is not an ORIGINAL concept I don't know what is! My suggestion: have your reviewer see it again, this time with his or her eyes OPEN. Otherwise, you will be missing one of the best films of this or any year.

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quelleproductions from United States
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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.

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motionpicturemedics
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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.

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teryljo from United States
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I saw Hesher at a "sneak peek" that a friend asked me to (being a fan of Hesher style music, I was a natural invite). Of course I loved the soundtrack, but the movie is great without the music. Hesher is a person that we have all known at some point in our lives (or have been at some point in our lives). He has problems but is trying to help those around them with their lives. From the boy who is one step shy of being an orphan to the young woman who suffers from very low self esteem, people look to Hesher for help and he delivers. His assistance may not be exactly what was expected, but it is helpful and does make for an entertaining and thoughtful movie.

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edgarman1040
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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.

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Dainius8888 (Dainius8888@gmail.com) from Lithuania
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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.

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megatrev from United Kingdom
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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 :-)

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CubeRic9000 from Australia
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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.

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CinemaPat from United States
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"Life is like walking in the rain... you can hide and take cover or you can just get wet." Rarely in a film do I find a quote within it that perfectly describes the lessons it's trying to portray. In "Hesher", directed by Spencer Susser, this quote resonated with me. It was not until I heard that line that I fully understood what this movie was about. "Hesher" is a great film. One with a lot of heart and some brilliant writing. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays the outrageous Hesher perfectly and is by far (aside from "Mysterious Skin") his best work to date.

"Hesher" plays out like a weird dream. T.J., impressively played by Devin Brochu, is a young boy struggling with the loss of his mother. He lives with his father Paul and his grandmother. Paul, played by Rain Wilson, has fallen into a deep depression letting go all of his responsibility to his son and his own mother. It's a very tragic situation they are in. In a fit of rage T.J. vandalizes what he thinks is an unoccupied building and as a result is confronted by Hesher, terrifying T.J. in the process. Hesher decides to follow T.J. to his home and lets himself in. T.J. can't do anything about this random person entering the house, doing laundry and generally just making himself at home for fear that Hesher will harm his family. What follows is a plethora of black comedy and heartfelt change within both Hesher and this distraught family.

At it's heart, "Hesher" is a film about not being able to see the things that are right in front of us until an outsider smacks us in the face with reality. This isn't apparent in the beginning of the film, but as Hesher gets to know the family and the situation they are in he goes from "house squatting" to being part of the family. In doing so the family is able to climb out of the rut they are in and fill the void left by the passing of the mother with the idea that life goes on. The film takes a lot of time to get to this realization, but the time spent getting there is great fun to watch.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt impresses me more every time I see him. His portrayal of the careless, fowl mouthed, violent, heavy metal loving outsider that we have all known at some point in our lives is spot on. Levitt seemed to really engulf himself into this role, almost to the point where he wasn't acting and just being himself. Rain Wilson also impressed me. His feature films have generally been him re-hashing his role from "The Office" in various outrageous situations. This time he was genuine and proved to this reviewer that his range goes beyond the weird goofball we are used to seeing. Natalie Portman plays the small role of T.J.'s older love interest. She was good, but her role seemed more like filler than anything else. There is nothing wrong with that, her character just wasn't an important role to the story it seemed.

One of the best aspects of this film was the relationship between Hesher and the grandmother, Madeleine, played by Piper Laurie. Hesher sees how Madeleine is just wandering aimlessly while Paul and T.J. deal with their problems completely ignoring her needs. Hesher, I think finds something that reminds him of his own mother in Madeleine and shares some sweet moments with her. Fortunately for Hesher, the grandmother's age has left her with the ability to completely ignore the fact that Hesher is just a stranger intruding into their lives and ends up treating him like one of her own. This, I think is the turning point for Hesher and we see the change within him.

This film goes much deeper than what is on the surface. Director and writer Spencer Susser did an amazing job with keeping the underlying meanings hidden until the right time for them to come to fruition. Not once was I bored with what was going on and I couldn't wait to see what the next scene had to offer. With this being Susser's first feature film, I am excited to see what he has next in the pipeline. Make no mistake, there is some vial language in this film so it's not for those that will not be able to get past the offensiveness of it all. But as I said, underneath the chain-smoking jerk that is Hesher you will find a kind soul that needed the Forney family just as much as they needed him.

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Rockwell_Cronenberg from United States
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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.

loss of mother|clerk|grocery|loss of relative|loss of wife|briefs|duringcreditsstinger|

AKAs Titles:


Certifications:
Australia:MA (2011) / Germany:16 / Japan:R15+ / Netherlands:12 / USA:R (certificate #46197)