Hesher (2010) Reviews

• HESHER---best film I saw at Sundance 2010

  marciarealestate2010-03-15

  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.

• Angel of Death, and Life

  quelleproductions2010-02-12

  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.

• Review From Film Crewmember

  motionpicturemedics2011-05-15

  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.

• Metal, Loss, Arson, and Moving On

  edgarman10402011-05-17

  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.

• double sided coin

  megatrev2011-08-12

  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 :-)