Hesher (Susser, 2011)
May 22nd 2011 15:15
Hesher (Susser, 2011)
Written May 20, 2011
The title card to Hesher bursts onto the screen accompanied by a crescendo of heavy metal music, disrupting the film’s quiet opening, and dissipating after a few chaotic chords. This can essentially describe the titular character. Played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Hesher is a blunt, unsettling force of nature. He appears abruptly and somehow instills himself into the life of T.J. (Devin Brochu) a child who recently lost his mother. Normally in a thematic film such as this, the character of Hesher would serve as a catalyst to fill the void and provide closure to the protagonist. For the most part, Hesher is the antagonist, disrupting T.J.’s life and making it worse to a degree. Only late in the film’s third act does Hesher begin to convey empathy and an outlet for T.J. and his family.
It’s the lack of clarity in Hesher’s actions that lend to an uneven core. Joseph Gordon-Levitt (U.S. cinema's most talented young actor) does an admirable job with what the script allows, highlighting detachment and non-altruistic intentions, but ultimately the entire character feels out of place. A force of violent aggression and chaos, it seems as though he’s meant to symbolize the emotions T.J. is feeling right now yet cannot express. If this was indeed the intention, the script fails to articulate it in a precise or complex manner.
Hesher the character is meant to offend. You don’t know whether to laugh at his dialogue or shake your head in awe at his actions. When he starts to reveal more dimensions, more feeling, the film shines; yet this only occurs in one or two scenes. By the third act, the shift in his actions fails to feel organic due to their late entrance.
Hesher seamlessly falls into T.J.’s life because no order currently exists. His father Paul (Rainn Wilson) is running on empty; drugged out on pills to numb the pain to the point he’s practically cationic. His grandmother Madeline (Piper Laurie) is old, hard of hearing, and accepts Hesher’s presence merely to have someone else to dote on. After brief initial questioning, T.J.’s dad barely bats an eye when Hesher instills himself at the dinner table and in the living room without ceremony.
T.J.’s life is a series of sad misadventures when the only thing he wants is to access his mom’s old car; his desire for this is obvious but takes on a different meaning after a relevant third act flashback (by far the film’s most effective scene) when we realize he’s attempting to hold onto a source of physical and emotional pain as if he needs it like breathing.
T.J.’s world is too crowded, spreading the film thin. There’s too many people and obstacles thrown in that nothing seems immediate and thus the film loses focus.
T.J. and his dad (a nice show of range by Rain Wilson) barely converse in the film. Their dynamic is truncated by T.J.’s misadventures with Hesher, as well as an ever present bully (wherein we are exposed to highly repetitive scenes which show no character growth and bring nothing new to the plot with their presence) and a nice cashier (played by Natalie Portman).
Hesher’s existence, ultimately, is unclear. He’s like the anti-Mary Poppins, brought in to fix a broken family only to disappear when his work is complete. The problem, however, is his motivations and actions for the first two third’s of the film fail to reconcile with the conclusion of his arc in Act III. His intentions sketchy at best, as are the director’s with regard to the film’s tone and overall core; we never fully connect with anyone. By the end, the film’s content turns extreme and heavy-handed. The conclusion is overly dramatic and the way it is shot deters from the rest of the pacing.
Ultimately, Hesher means well. Director and co-writer Spencer Susser, in his first length feature film, simply attempts to include too many people, feelings and events into 90 minutes when no one’s interactions feel terribly organic. Hesher the character is clearly meant to be a storm of disruption, but perhaps succeeds far too well in his task.
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Please note my Most Talented Actors Age 35 and Under list which is linked to in this review has undergone a rather large update in the form of edited descriptions, disqualifications due to age and shifting in terms of numbers. You may view the start of that list here
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