Hesher

Hesher
Reviewed by: Steffen Vitale

Hesher is a movie about coping with grief. TJ (played by Devin Brochu) has just lost his mother in a horrific car accident. His father Paul (Rainn Wilson) is upset and depressed, to the point where he is unable to function. Both live at TJ's grandmother’s house, living one day at a time. Since the accident they both fall away from each other emotionally, and now their relationship is suffering horribly.

Enter Hesher (Joseph Gordeon-Levitt). Hesher is a nihilist, pyromaniac, metalhead that TJ somehow crossed paths with. After the initial confrontation with TJ, Hesher shows up at his grandmother’s doorstep, moves in without permission, and threatens the family if they don't comply. As time goes by they eventually tolerate Hesher's anarchistic behavior and accept him as a part of the household. Oddly enough, he teaches them important life lessons (granted in the most vulgar way possible).

This movie, with its dark and crude humor may not jump onto everyone’s top ten list, but with its dark and brooding tones, is more for people with a less than twisted, but more bent outlook on life. In Hesher, certain situations are dealt with in usually the most violent and curse filled way possible. Yet, with all the bedlam in this movie, it does have its soft moments, such as when TJ gets saved from a bully by a plain-jane cashier (Natalie Portman), to when Hesher teaches grandma to use a bong. Even with the loud and exciting scene, filled with fire, swearing and various Metallica songs; this movie also has its moments of being quiet and slow moving. Obviously, it is to show the perspective of a child who is having a hard time coping with the life given to him, but at times it gets to a point where one would wonder if certain scenes will ever end. Thank goodness for Hesher. His outrageous behavior and vulgarity make up for the lower points in this film. His sheer crudeness brings an interesting outlook on life.

I personally enjoyed the hell out of this movie, if not for the plot, but for Brochu’s acting; he held the weight of his role well. Wilson played a character completely different from his normal (almost typecast) characters. Portman was kind of there. Gordon-Levitt easily stood out playing Hesher. He almost seemed like he had fun playing this complete madman. If you enjoy extremely off-base, dark movies, I definitely recommend it.