Film Review: Hesher

You may know the situation. You hear about a new film that has come out, and people are banging on about how amazing it is, how it's the best film they've seen this year, but due to lack of knowledge and information about it, you are slightly cynical about the whole deal.

That was what I was like with Hesher. I moved it rapidly to the top of my 'to watch' pile (if only to silence my friends!), and was pleasantly surprised. And while I wouldn't brand it film of the year by a long shot, it's a terrific and original film full of brilliant performances.

T.J. (Devin Brochu, who was also in the very disappointing Rubber, atoning here) and Paul Forney (Rainn Wilson) have just lost their mother and wife respectively, and are struggling to come to terms with the loss, living with Paul's mother Madeleine . A chance encounter leaves them with a very unwelcome house guest in the form of Hesher (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a pot smoking, fire starting, 'metalhead' loner who moves himself in and in a very direct and abrupt way starts to help them deal with their loss.

Well, that may be what ends up on the back of the box, but it's not really accurate. Hesher is a total dick. And not much he does endears himself to anyone. But he is one of the best characters I have seen in a film in ages. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays the character with relish, as he goes from one self destructing scene to another. But as with these sorts of films, he (kinda) softens, culminating in a hilarious speech near the films end that sums up the character so well.

Rainn Wilson also impresses in his role as the grieving husband. I'd only ever seen him in comedy roles, from the U.S. version of The Office to his brilliant turn in Six Feet Under (which was a very comedic role in a drama with some dark comedy, before anyone says anything), and it was only near the end of Super (reviewed HERE) where his dramatic chops really began to show for me, but in Hesher he is a revelation. Just the depth of his mourning for his wife, he can barely summon the energy to even ask why Hesher has moved in, let alone kick him out. It's a must see film for fans of his.

Natalie Portman is good value in her few scenes (she's really not in it too much) as Nicole, a supermarket cashier who befriends T.J., but other than that it's not really a massive cast.

The music is also top notch. I've always noticed that you never really get many Metallica songs on a soundtrack but it seems like they were saving it for Hesher, with no less than 5 different tracks used (and I swear there is a riff or two from their last album Death Magnetic), and there's also a Motorhead song used that isn't 'Ace Of Spades', which is always refreshing (it's Rock Out if you were wondering.) But it's Metallica song 'Motorbreath' that really sums up the character of Hesher nicely I thought.

If I had to level any criticism at the film, it would be the comedy being slightly broad in places. A lot of the laughs do come from what Hesher does, but there is the an odd moment where it gets a bit...silly (a character punching another character in the crotch makes it seem like another film for a moment), but that kind of thing is few and far between.

Overall, Hesher is a darkly humorous, and more importantly than that a quite touching, and original look at a family dealing with grief. Check it out.

****
A fantastic film, with great performances from Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Rainn Wilson, although the films 'dark comedy' tone does lighten too much for it's own good at times. Well worth looking out for, though.