Is Natalie Portman in everything these days? It certainly feels like it. This year alone, we’ve already seen her in “No Strings Attached,” “Your Highness,” “Thor” and now “Hesher.” And she’s been on moviegoers’ minds ever since she won the Oscar for “Black Swan.” “Hesher” is the best of all four. In fact, “Hesher” might be the best film I’ve seen so far this year. It came as something of a surprise, given that the movie’s poster contains this tagline at the top: “Sometimes life gives you the finger and sometimes it gives you. …”
The film is as unexpected as the character after which it’s named. T.J. is a lonely boy, bullied at school and ignored at home. His father (Rainn Wilson) hasn’t recovered from the death of his mother; the pair now live with Grandma (Piper Laurie), and it’s not clear she’s all there. Riding his bike one day, T.J. comes across a construction site. Squatting in the house is Hesher — just Hesher (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). T.J.’s presence alerts the cops, and Hesher is forced to flee. He makes himself at home at T.J.’s place. “What’s he doing here?” his dad asks. T.J. responds, with a word that’s both a question and an answer: “Laundry?”
| On screen |
| ‘Hesher’ |
| 4.5 out of 5 stars |
| Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Devin Brochu, Natalie Portman |
| Director: Spencer Susser |
| Rated: R for disturbing violent behavior, sexual content including graphic dialogue, pervasive language, and drug content — some in the presence of a child |
| Running time: 100 minutes |
Hesher sweeps in like a tornado. He has long hair, homemade tattoos and a taste for pot, porn and heavy metal. But as unlikely as it seems, he’s just what the troubled T.J. needs. “Do you guys know you only have four channels?” Hesher asks. Looking rather like Tarzan, he climbs a pole to get them free cable. That about sums up his character — he manages to do good, but looks awfully degenerate doing it, a Christ figure and an anti-Christ rolled into one.
First-time feature director Spencer Susser begins his film with too much shaky camera. But he finds his footing quickly. His quirky film, filled with a surreal levity, is one of the most original to come out in some time. Gordon-Levitt never puts in a bad performance, and he carries this film as easily as he’s done any other. The young Devin Brochu is winsome, while Laurie as the granny provides some of the film’s funniest moments.
I haven’t mentioned Portman yet. She plays a struggling grocery store cashier who meets T.J. when she scares off his bully. It’s not her biggest role this year. But perhaps her presence will lead more people to this impressive debut.
