Hesher (film)

2010 American film

Hesher

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| Spencer Susser
Screenplay by|

* Spencer Susser
* David Michôd

Story by| Brian Charles Frank
Produced by|

* Natalie Portman
* Spencer Susser
* Morgan Susser
* Lucy Cooper
* Johnny Lin
* Scott Prisand
* Win Sheridan

Starring|

* Joseph Gordon-Levitt
* Rainn Wilson
* Natalie Portman
* Piper Laurie
* Devin Brochu

Cinematography| Morgan Susser
Edited by|

* Michael McCusker
* Spencer Susser

Music by| Francois Tetaz

Production
companies

* The Last Picture Company
* Corner Store Entertainment
* CatchPlay
* Newmarket Films
* Blue-Tongue Films
* Handsomecharlie Films

Distributed by| Wrekin Hill Entertainment

Release dates

* January 22, 2010 (2010-01-22) (Sundance)
* May 13, 2011 (2011-05-13) (United States)

Running time

| 105 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English
Budget| $7 million[1]
Box office| $449,702[1]

Hesher is a 2010 American comedy drama film co-edited, written, and directed by Spencer Susser in his feature directorial debut, from a screenplay by Susser and David Michôd, and based on a story by Brian Charles Frank. Starring Joseph 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.

Several songs by heavy metal bands like Metallica and Motörhead are featured in the film, as well as on the soundtrack. Principal photography began in Los Angeles on May 2, 2009, and concluded on June 15.

Hesher premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on 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

[edit]

Following 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 that 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 begins crying 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 will 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 has been removed. He decides to give the money to Nicole, but when he gets there she is having sex with Hesher. He then proceeds to damage his van while telling both of them he does not 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 does not 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, but T.J. refuses and she leaves him. At the funeral, T.J. is asked to speak 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 his testicles. He then explained that he got caught up in the loss of his testicle, focusing on it so much 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 would 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. He then 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-Levitt as Hesher
* Rainn Wilson as Paul Forney
* Natalie Portman as Nicole
* Devin Brochu as T. J. Forney
* Piper Laurie as Madeleine Forney
* John Carroll Lynch as Larry
* Audrey Wasilewski as Coleen Bolder
* Brendan Hill as Dustin
* Monica Staggs as Mom
* Frank Collison as Funeral Director
* Milt Kogan as Doctor

## Reception

[edit]

Hesher received mixed reviews upon its release. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports 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, Hesher isn'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 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."[4] However, other critics, such as Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film more indifferent reviews. Ebert said, "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."[5]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Hesher (2011)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
2. ^ "Hesher". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
3. ^ "Hesher Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More". Metacritic. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
4. ^ Travers, Peter (May 12, 2011). "Hesher". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 27, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
5. ^ Ebert, Roger (May 11, 2011). "The gorilla in the room". RogerEbert.com. Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved March 17, 2013.

## External links

[edit]

* Hesher at IMDb
* Hesher at Box Office Mojo
* Hesher at Rotten Tomatoes

* v
* t
* e

Natalie Portman

* Filmography
* Awards and nominations

Film|

| Director|

* Eve (2008; also writer)
* New York, I Love You (2008; also co-writer)
* A Tale of Love and Darkness (2015; also writer)

|

Producer|

* Hesher (2010)
* Jane Got a Gun (2015)
* Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016)

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