Hesheris a 2010 Americancomedy drama filmco-edited, written, and directed bySpencer Susserin hisfeature directorial debut,from a screenplay by Susser andDavid Michôd,and based on a story by Brian Charles Frank. StarringJoseph Gordon-Levitt,Rainn Wilson,Natalie Portman,Piper Laurie,and Devin Brochu, the film follows the titular rebellious metalhead (Gordon-Levitt) and his chaotic misadventures with T. J. Forney (Brochu), a depressed high school freshman coming to terms with the death of his mother in a car crash.
| Hesher | |
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 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Spencer Susser |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by | Brian Charles Frank |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Morgan Susser |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | Francois Tetaz |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Wrekin Hill Entertainment |
Release dates |
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Running time | 105 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $7 million[1] |
| Box office | $449,702[1] |
Several songs byheavy metalbands such asMetallicaandMotörheadare featured in the film, as well as on the soundtrack.Principal photographybegan inLos Angeleson May 2, 2009, and concluded on June 15.
Hesherpremiered at theSundance Film Festivalon January 22, 2010, where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. The film was theatrically released in the United States on May 13, 2011, to mixed reviews from critics and was a box office failure. This is the only feature film written and directed by Susser to date.
Plot
editFollowing the loss of his mother in a car crash, T.J. falls into a state of depression. He becomes obsessed with the car his mother died in and follows it when it is towed away. He and his passive, depressed and pill-taking father Paul live with T.J.'s grandmother Madeleine, where they are soon joined by a squatter, Hesher, a foul-mouthed, tattooed,heavy metal-loving lout.
After school, Dustin, a bully from the towing service, finds his car vandalized and blames T.J., who is saved and taken home by Nicole, a grocery store clerk, who admitted to knowing of the attacks towards him but did nothing until now. Hesher witnesses Dustin attacking T.J., but does nothing. Later, Hesher sets Dustin's car on fire, leading to police questioning T.J., but lack of evidence forces them to let him go. T.J. proceeds to spy on Nicole at the grocery store when Hesher appears and follows her home with T.J. She causes a fender-bender and is verbally assaulted by the other driver, when Hesher comes to her rescue by threatening him. He then takes Nicole and T.J. to a random house that is for sale. There, Hesher trashes the swimming pool and lights the diving board on fire before he shocks Nicole and T.J. by leaving them there alone. When the pair get back to Nicole's broken down car, it has a ticket in the window, at which point Nicole breaks down and cries about how bad her life is.
Later that night, T.J. and Paul get into an argument over dinner. Madeleine is saddened that there is 'nothing she can do', and goes to her room. Hesher says he'll walk with her in the morning, but the next morning, he finds her dead. T.J. steals his dad's credit card and takes money to buy the car back, but is told it's been removed. He decides to give the money to Nicole, but when he gets there she is having sex with Hesher, so he damages his van while telling both of them he doesn't want to see them again and leaves.
He threatens Dustin at his house and finds out the car was taken to be crushed. Dustin begins attacking T.J. until Hesher, who has been following him, appears and drags Dustin off him. T.J. tells him he still doesn't want to see him again and then goes to the junkyard. He climbs in the wrecked car and sleeps, dreaming of his mother's death. He wakes up when the car is going to be crushed and falls out. He returns home after seeing it destroyed. While getting ready for his grandmother's funeral, Nicole comes and asks for forgiveness and leaves him. At the funeral, T.J. is asked to say words for her, but has nothing to say.
Hesher walks in drunk, resisting efforts to throw him out and demands that the mourners listen to him. He tells a story about how when he was younger he blew up the gas tank of a car and shrapnel destroyed one of histesticles.He then explained that he got caught up in the loss of his testicle focusing on it so much that he forgot he had a right testicle and working penis. He then draws the parallel: you lost a wife, and you lost a mother; I lost a testicle. He then announces that he promised Grandma he'd go on a walk with her and proceeds to push the casket out of the room. T.J. and Paul stand agape and watch Hesher pushing the casket through the road. After a brief hesitation T.J. and Paul run to catch up and take a place on each side with their hands on the casket to help Hesher push and also to join the walk with Grandma.
The next day, Paul shaves for the first time in weeks and tells T.J. that Hesher is gone. Then he shows T.J. the compacted remains of his mother's car, which sits in the driveway. The screen draws back and then we see on the roof of the house that Hesher has spray painted in huge white letters, "Hesher was here."
Cast
edit- Joseph Gordon-Levittas Hesher
- Rainn Wilsonas Paul Forney
- Natalie Portmanas Nicole
- Devin Brochu as T. J. Forney
- Piper Laurieas Madeleine Forney
- John Carroll Lynchas Larry
- Audrey Wasilewskias Coleen Bolder
- Brendan Hill as Dustin
- Monica Staggsas Mom
- Frank Collisonas Funeral Director
- Milt Koganas Doctor
Reception
editHesherreceived mixed reviews upon its release. Review aggregatorRotten Tomatoesreports that 55% of 78 film critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 5.8 out of 10, and a consensus stating "It has a dark sense of humor and a refreshing lack of sentimentality, but like its title character,Hesherisn't really interested in going anywhere. "[2]Metacritic,which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gives the film a score of 45 based on 26 reviews.[3]
Peter TraversofRolling Stonepraised the film and Gordon-Levitt's performance, stating "So what ifHesherflies 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 intoHallmarksentiment, you can't take your eyes off him. "[4]However, other critics, such asRoger Ebertof theChicago Sun-Timesgave the film more lukewarm reviews. Ebert said, "Hesherassembles 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. "[5]
References
edit- ^ab"Hesher (2011)".Box Office Mojo.Retrieved21 February2012.
- ^"Hesher".Rotten Tomatoes.RetrievedJanuary 12,2023.
- ^"Hesher Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More".Metacritic.RetrievedMarch 17,2013.
- ^Travers, Peter (May 12, 2011)."Hesher".Rolling Stone.Archived fromthe originalon November 27, 2022.RetrievedMarch 17,2013.
- ^Ebert, Roger (May 11, 2011)."The gorilla in the room".RogerEbert.Chicago Sun-Times.RetrievedMarch 17,2013.