The movie Hesher arrives at Sundance with Joseph Gordon-Levitt's star on the rise and heightened anticipation post- 500 Days of Summer to see just how far he can go. One would think that with accomplished starlet Natalie Portman co-piloting this dramedy that Hesher would be a potent indie. Unfortunately, while JGL literally burns up the screen, the rest of the movies chaotic fire only dimly flickers.
The movie tells a tale of a grieving boy, TJ (Devin Brochu), whose mother recently passed away in a car accident and is struggling to deal with a rather nasty high school bully. During his travels TJ comes across a rather unlikable sort who goes by the name of Hesher (JGL). As the name would hint, Hesher is all balls out and heavy metal. Obnoxious, uninhibited and straight out dangerous Hesher brings a strange mix to TJ's family dynamic that includes his equally grief ridden father (Rainn Wilson) and his salt of earth Grandmother. Strangely enough Hesher offers the family an unlikely distraction that fascinates them all. As TJ stumbles along with the devil (Hesher) sitting on his shoulder he finds a kindred spirit in the form of Nicole the local grocery check out gal (Natalie Portman).Through a strange set of events TJ,Hesher and Nicole create a weird little triumvirate. With building intensity Hesher's brand of chaos begins to spark a flame in TJ that will transform his grief into a powerful force for good and also bad. Much like a wildfire everything must burn down to the ground in order to be rebuilt again.
The character Hesher is mesmerizing and at times extremely funny. Surely Joseph Gordon-Levitt saw a complex character that he could really have fun with, and indeed the end results show just that. Let it be clear that in terms of quality this is another great turn by JGL and another stepping stone on his way to becoming one of the best actors of his generation. That being said Hesher the movie feels disjointed, at times the movie's is too ugly and it leaves a bad taste that makes it hard to rebound for the laughs. To that end, while lurid the movie's strongest parts are its humorous ones which unfortunately are far too short lived. Speaking of short lived, Natalie Portman sees very little screen time and is dreadfully under used. Rainn Wilson as the depressed father turns out a great performance, after seeing this it seems that the Office dweeb has a lot more to offer then Dwightisms. Additionally, Devin Brochu as the young TJ is no slouch and really gives a powerful performance at his tender age, his rage is believable and at times tough to watch.
While there are good performances here the story simply does not allow for attachment or a truly rewarding pay off. The end results feel like JGL highlights with little else that really makes a lasting impression.
The movie tells a tale of a grieving boy, TJ (Devin Brochu), whose mother recently passed away in a car accident and is struggling to deal with a rather nasty high school bully. During his travels TJ comes across a rather unlikable sort who goes by the name of Hesher (JGL). As the name would hint, Hesher is all balls out and heavy metal. Obnoxious, uninhibited and straight out dangerous Hesher brings a strange mix to TJ's family dynamic that includes his equally grief ridden father (Rainn Wilson) and his salt of earth Grandmother. Strangely enough Hesher offers the family an unlikely distraction that fascinates them all. As TJ stumbles along with the devil (Hesher) sitting on his shoulder he finds a kindred spirit in the form of Nicole the local grocery check out gal (Natalie Portman).Through a strange set of events TJ,Hesher and Nicole create a weird little triumvirate. With building intensity Hesher's brand of chaos begins to spark a flame in TJ that will transform his grief into a powerful force for good and also bad. Much like a wildfire everything must burn down to the ground in order to be rebuilt again.
The character Hesher is mesmerizing and at times extremely funny. Surely Joseph Gordon-Levitt saw a complex character that he could really have fun with, and indeed the end results show just that. Let it be clear that in terms of quality this is another great turn by JGL and another stepping stone on his way to becoming one of the best actors of his generation. That being said Hesher the movie feels disjointed, at times the movie's is too ugly and it leaves a bad taste that makes it hard to rebound for the laughs. To that end, while lurid the movie's strongest parts are its humorous ones which unfortunately are far too short lived. Speaking of short lived, Natalie Portman sees very little screen time and is dreadfully under used. Rainn Wilson as the depressed father turns out a great performance, after seeing this it seems that the Office dweeb has a lot more to offer then Dwightisms. Additionally, Devin Brochu as the young TJ is no slouch and really gives a powerful performance at his tender age, his rage is believable and at times tough to watch.
While there are good performances here the story simply does not allow for attachment or a truly rewarding pay off. The end results feel like JGL highlights with little else that really makes a lasting impression.