| Hesher | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Spencer Susser |
| Produced by | Natalie Portman Spencer Susser Morgan Susser Lucy Cooper Johnny Lin Scott Prisand Win Sheridan |
| Screenplay by | Spencer Susser David Michôd |
| Story by | Brian Charles Frank |
| Starring | Joseph Gordon-Levitt Rainn Wilson Natalie Portman Devin Brochu |
| Music by | Francois Tetaz |
| Cinematography | Morgan Susser |
| Editing by | Michael McCusker Spencer Susser |
| Studio | The Last Picture Company CatchPlay Corner Store Entertainment |
| Distributed by | Newmarket Films |
| Release date(s) | January 22, 2010 (Sundance) May 13, 2011 (United States) |
| Running time | 106 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $7 million[1] |
| Box office | $382,946[1] |
Hesher is a 2011 American dark comedy/drama film written and directed by Spencer Susser and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rainn Wilson, and Natalie Portman. First screened at the Sundance Film Festival January 22, 2010, the film was released in the United States on May 13, 2011. Most of the songs on the film's soundtrack are tracks from American heavy metal band Metallica and British hard rockers Motorhead.
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Following the loss of his mother in a car crash, T.J (Devin Brochu) falls into a state of depression, and social isolation. His pill popping father (Rainn Wilson) and he is forced to live with T.J.'s elderly absent-minded grandmother (Piper Laurie).
After an argument with his father, T.J. goes into a construction project on his way to school, where he crashes his bicycle upon hitting a beam. Angrily, he throws an object into a bay window of a seemingly unoccupied project home and breaks it. This disturbs a squatting resident named Hesher (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who threatens T.J., but when a cop arrives, Hesher tosses an explosive out the window and flees. T.J. goes to school where he sees Hesher, smoking a cigarette in the school's staircase, before being beaten and humiliated by Dustin, a schoolyard bully.
After school, Dustin finds his car vandalized (presumably by Hesher, who T.J. saw earlier holding a marker) and chases T.J. into the parking lot of a local supermarket. Nicole, a clerk (Natalie Portman), jumps into the fight, defending T.J., and gives him a ride home — where, to his surprise, Hesher walks in and makes himself at home. T.J. is disconcerted but unsure what to do about the intrusion; T.J.'s grandmother, however, takes kindly to the young stranger, treating him as a grandson-type figure. Later that night during dinner, grandma Forney remarks she would like T.J. to walk with her, and T.J. responds that he has to attend school. Hesher, irritated by T.J.'s defiance, states in his usual vulgar manner that a walk with his grandmother is more important than school, citing the danger of "granny rapists."
The next day at school, Dustin catches up with T.J. in the boys bathroom, forcing his head into a urinal as he demands that T.J. eat the urinal cake. Hesher appears, watches for a moment, and walks away. Feeling betrayed, T.J. confronts Hesher about doing nothing to defend him, after which Hesher asks T.J. into his van; they go to Dustin's house, and Hesher sets Dustin's car on fire. The next morning, the police arrive to Mrs. Forney's house to bring T.J. in for questioning, but no subsequent charges are filed due to lack of evidence.
The following day, T.J. goes to the supermarket where Nicole works to observe her, unbeknownst to him, Hesher had followed him there. After Nicole has finished her shift, Hesher and T.J. follow her in Hesher's van, until she hits another vehicle in a rear-end collision. Hesher scares off the other driver by pinning the blame on him, and subsequently offers a ride to Nicole because her car is broken. Once in the van, Hesher takes Nicole and T.J. to "his uncle's" house and the three swim. Once there, Hesher acts belligerently, throwing virtually everything into the pool, and using lighter fluid to set the diving board on fire, then jumping off. Shortly afterward, Hesher leaves suddenly, claiming he has a doctors appointment, because "it burns when [he] urinates". After T.J. and Nicole realize Hesher lied about it being his uncle's house, they walk back to Nicole's car. Nicole finds a parking ticket on her car because it has been parked illegally, about which she falls into depression, seemingly because she has a 'dead end' life, a 'dead end' job, and can't afford to pay her bills.
Once back at the house, Hesher asks about the confrontation, to which T.J. responds negatively, bitter towards Hesher's carefree attitude. He then goes to a junkyard, where the car in which his mother died is in the process of being crushed. It is there that he bumps into the bully Dustin (who works there), and is intimidated and saddened that there is no way to get the vehicle back. Later that night, T.J. and his father get into an argument over dinner, in which Hesher is in the middle, resulting in both smashing their plates to the ground. Grandma is saddened that there is 'nothing she can do', and goes to her room. Hesher soon goes into her room where they make random conversation and Hesher teaches her how to smoke her medical marijuana from a bong, telling her "it's probably the healthiest way to smoke weed". Hesher then promises to go on a walk with her in the morning. The next morning, Hesher walks in to find she had died.
With the family thrown into an even deeper depression, and Hesher's influence rubbing off on them, Hesher angrily says "I need to get out of here before I hurt someone", and runs off. T.J. then goes to Nicole's apartment in hopes of giving her money to pay for her ticket, but walks in on Hesher and Nicole having sex. Angered, T.J. beats on Hesher's car, threatens to hit him, calls Nicole a 'fat prostitute', and rides off on his bike. He goes back to the house, and destroys all of Hesher's possessions that are in the garage, and takes a pair of cutting shears. With vengeance in his heart, T.J. goes to Dustin's house, where he threatens to cut off Dustin's toes if he doesn't tell the truth about the car being destroyed. This plan backfires, and Dustin angrily pins T.J. to the ground, unaware that Hesher is outside the sliding door. Hesher throws Dustin against the wall and cuts his nose with the shears, and T.J., still bitter at Hesher, runs off, saying he never wants to see him again.
T.J. then goes to the junkyard to sit in his mother's car (now atop many other junked cars) and falls asleep in the back seat. The next morning, the car is picked up and ready to be crushed, when T.J. falls through the windshield. Angry, T.J. watches the car crushed, and walks off bitterly. A few hours later, T.J. and his father attend the funeral of Grandma, at which time Hesher, drinking a beer, makes a vulgar speech that signifies the gift of family, and portrays one bad thing can be made into a good. At the reception, Hesher, with his usual defiance, tells T.J. he promised to walk with Grandma, and wheels her casket outside and down the road; an emotional T.J. and Paul join him.
The next day, Paul shaves and apparently is out of his depression, realizing the message Hesher was trying to get across. He shows T.J. the block that was his mother's car, that Hesher had procured from the junkyard and placed in the driveway. Hesher has disappeared, after vandalizing their roof with "Hesher was here."
Hesher received mixed reviews, and currently holds a 55% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the consensus stating "It has a dark sense of humor and a refreshing lack of sentimentality, but like its title character, Hesher isn't really interested in going anywhere."[2]
Peter Travers of Rolling Stone praised the film and Gordon-Levitt's performance, stating "So what if Hesher flies off its wobbly handles — it keeps springing funny and touching surprises. The performances are aces. Wilson makes Dad's emergence a subtle marvel. And even when the script edges Gordon-Levitt into Hallmark sentiment, you can't take your eyes off him." However, other critics, such as Roger Ebert stated "Hesher assembles a group of characters who aren't sure why they're in the same movie together. One by one, they have an attraction, but brought together, they're all elbows and angles."