Hesher is a 2010 film directed by Spencer Susser, written by Susser and David Michôd and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rainn Wilson, Natalie Portman and Devin Brochu.  The film details a family’s struggle with the loss of a wife and mother and the invasion of Joseph Gordon-Levitt into their lives as the man known simply as Hesher.  The film is depressing and morose for much of it as you see the family try and cope, but director Susser injects some bits of lightheartedness courtesy of the film’s title character.  It may not be laugh-out-loud humour or even the kind to elicit a chuckle, but a smile might find its way onto your face for a moment and it does help to break the film’s dour subject up into something more palatable.

Hesher

When director Spenscer Susser introduces us to Hesher we immediately see that he is not a great man, or even a good one.  He is not even particularly likeable.  He is rude, abrupt, violent, moody and maybe even a little unbalanced.  There does not seem to be any redeeming qualities about the man and yet you can see that there is something there under the surface.  There are moments when he shows some loyalty, understanding and even a little sympathy.  He knows right from wrong but does not seem to care one way or the other as he does what he wants when he wants and social graces be damned.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt brings the complicated metal-loving character to life and he gives him as much charisma and underlying baggage as he possibly can without ever relaying exactly what it is that makes him the way he is.

TJ, played by the talented Devin Brochu, is doing the best he can after the death of his mother and it does not help that his father, portrayed by Rainn Wilson in a memorable performance, is listless and cannot get off the couch most days while his grandmother slowly goes senile.  He has a lot of rage building up inside of him and so it is a little fortuitous, or disastrous, that Hesher enters the picture.  The weakest character of the movie is Nicole played by Natalie Portman.  While she does not take away from the movie, she does not add too much to it either and it seemed like almost every other character that Natalie Portman tends to play.  It is like watching Natalie Portman play Natalie Portman.  She is a great actress and she did not do a bad job as she is always good, but the role might have been served better with someone else possibly filling her shoes.

Hesher and family.

The film does have a lot of heart, usually quite solemn at times, and often buried or obscured by Hesher and his antics.    Hesher, whether anyone in the family sees it, is just what they need to break out of the holding pattern they are in.  The same could be said of the opposite as Hesher needs the family to change his life up for the better.  Seeing Rainn Wilson outside of his Dwight Shrute persona is always a good thing as it always shows just how talented the man really is.  If you ever thought contrary to this, then watch this film.  The final moment of the movie is the most touching as what tore the family apart, finally brings them together, with Hesher’s help of course.  And if the film were to go on, we might find that Hesher himself has found a little redemption as well, and perhaps some peace because of it.

All in all, it was a good film.  It hit all the right notes when it had to and featured some really strong performances from all involved, even Portman.  When a film deals with grief or any subject of a sensitive nature, it has to tread that fine line for the audience to believe in the characters and the story it is trying to tell otherwise it just falls apart.  This film accomplished that and did so quite well.  It would have been nice to see a little more of what made Hesher tick as we never really get any background on him, but perhaps that was for the best as he came in like a force of nature, staying a bit and then moving on.  Best of all was the soundtrack featuring songs from Metallica and Motorhead which surprisingly suited the film really well.

4 out of 5