Hesher

"Life is like walking in the rain... you can hide and take cover, or you can walk and just get wet"

There just aren't enough movies about badass heavy metal dudes. Heavy metal in film has long been a source of ridicule (see This is Spinal Tap), and yeah, the character of Hesher is a funny guy, but most of the time we're laughing with him. That's pretty unusual. Heck, it's unusual for a film to even make any reference to thrash metal at all... usually the kind of metal music featured in movies is closer to the operatics of Iron Maiden or watered down metal that's more akin to hard rock (Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny) or glam (Rock Star). This movie, Hesher, isn't really about heavy metal, but the eponymous character is 100% pure early '90s Metallica fan. He's so similar to the westie headbangers I grew up around that it was bizarre to see such a character interacting with Natalie Portman in a movie.

It's kind of hard to describe Hesher. We come into the story around the point where a troubled young boy named T.J. (Devin Brochu) accidentally crosses paths with Hesher (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), but the story really goes back further than this. The boy and his dad (Rainn Wilson) are eking out a pathetic existence with grandma (Piper Laurie) in this increasingly rundown house. Hesher takes exception to T.J.'s encroachment on his own life, and so he decides to just move into T.J.'s house and start squatting there. The dad is so deeply depressed that he barely notices, and grandma is in a world of her own, so it's up to T.J. to try and get rid of Hesher. Things get worse for T.J. when he and Hesher also both start competing for the affection of a local supermarket cashier (Natalie Portman).

The above description doesn't do this film justice. Nearly all of this film's originality is fuelled on Joseph Gordon-Levitt's hilariously downplayed performance as Hesher. Despite the film's name, he isn't even really the main character, and his unpredictability in the role is every bit as deserving of the kind of praise that Johnny Depp got when he first played Captain Jack Sparrow in the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, so it's a shame that this film (and Gordon-Levitt's performance) isn't more widely recognised.

On one level this is a dark film about people who are having trouble coping with a personal and very real tragedy, but on another level it features this guy named Hesher. He doesn't care about shit, he's reckless, lawless, irresponsible, destructive, stupid... he's smokin' bongs with grandma, and he's pretty much unique when viewed as a catalyst for change in terms of plot mechanics in movies. He also gives pretty much the best end of movie speech ever. I can't recommend Hesher enough, so check it out.

DIRECTOR: Spencer Susser
WRITER/SOURCE: Spencer Susser, David Michod and Brian Charles Frank.
KEY ACTORS: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Devin Brochu, Natalie Portman, Rainn Wilson, Piper Laurie, Brendan Hill, John Carroll Lynch, Audrey Wasilewski

RELATED TEXTS
- Writer-director Spencer Susser previously made the short film I Love Sarah Jane, which he is currently developing into his second feature film.
- Other indie flicks about unlikely pairings of characters: The Good Heart, Adam, Is Anybody There?, The Station Agent, About a Boy, The Visitor and Ghost World.
- Films that showcase Joseph Gordon-Levitt's range and talent: Brick, Mysterious Skin, (500) Days of Summer, Stop-Loss and 50/50.

AWARDS
Sundance Film Festival - nominated for Grand Jury prize.