Hesher (2010– 106 mins) Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Devin Brochu and Natalie Portman 

There have always been stories in film involving the mysterious stranger who comes out of nowhere to help some main characters to solve some trouble and then fade into the blackness or walk off into the sunset when it’s all done. Whether it’s a Clint Eastwood character for adults, or Nanny Mcphee for the kids. Here we get the ultimate foul mouthed alternative to the mysterious stranger in “Hesher”.

A boy TJ (Bronchu), and his father (Rainn Wilson) are having a tough time coping with the loss of his mother. They are both in a deep depressive place and cannot seem to break out of it. In comes Hesher. Hesher is a smoking, drinking, story telling, do anything to piss off authority figures type of guy. In a way he kinda takes the boy under his wing, without actually doing so. He doesn’t stick up for the kid or teach him things the normal manner. His typical way of handling a bully is by torching the kid’s family car. And to impart any sort of wisdom he will tell an elaborate yet completely porn laced dirty story, which we realize after about the 2nd or 3rd story are complete metaphors for his little “lessons”. (Spoilers—>) Eventually he starts to break through to TJ’s dad and somehow gets the family through stuff before, like all mysterious figures, walking off into the sunset in his own “Hesher” way.

The movie itself started off a bit slow and was hard to wrap my head around for a bit till you start to get a feel for all the characters, especially Hesher himself. Reflecting back, it becomes not a movie plot flaw, but rather a way to show you how messed up the two of them really are. It’s almost a complete parallel to the pace of the movie. As the movie picks up and things start to evolve so does our enjoyment. I think some people might find this to be a flaw, but I enjoyed what it brought out of the story itself. Naturally Gordon-Levitt steals the show as Hesher and once you get past how weird of a character it is for him, you see how brilliantly he plays the derelict with a metaphor for everything. Unfortunately, he’s about all that stands out performance-wise in this one. Portman and Wilson are near invisible in the film as spare pieces used to bring some more big names to the poster. It’s not that they were bad, just under-used and under-written for in the movie.

Verdict–> It’s not a master piece or a family film, but that being said, I liked it quite a bit. His stories themselves are worth the time of watching. They are funny, completely inappropriate and yet completely enlightening for the plot. As they start to unfold and shape the kid the movie takes stride and finishes strong. Not a movie for kids or those people who might be easily offended by things. If you like off the beaten path indies and some dark humor laughs then by all means pick this up if you see it in the red box. Good Recommendation.

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