By: debbie lynn elias
It takes a lot to flabbergast me in a film and with HESHER, writer/director Spencer Susser has done just that. I laughed. I got teary. My face went into mouth-agape OMG mode countless times. And at the end of it all, I was scratching my head in amazement asking myself “what was that”, knowing full well that this was one unique movie-going experience. Melding a grieving family with an anarchist loner named HESHER, in the most inexplicable of circumstances, Susser creates indelible characters that are only elevated by the performances of the actors, most notably Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rainn Wilson and newcomer Devin Brochu, who goes toe-to-toe without flinching when pitted against his veteran co-stars. Described by Gordon-Levitt as “a really genuine story and unaffected in a lot of ways”, HESHER will surprise, intrigue and entertain from beginning to end.
13 year old TJ has just lost his mother, the victim of a fatal car accident. His father, Paul, is so consumed by grief that he has no idea TJ even exists, as he spends his day overly medicated, just laying on his mother’s couch. So unable to cope with life without his wife, Paul moved himself and TJ back to his childhood home where his mother, herself a bit infirm, now cares for the men. TJ is lost and alone and immersed in his own grief, but still manages to put one foot in front of the other and go about daily life. But is he living?
Unmercifully picked on at school, TJ has no one to run to, no one to protect him. His father is oblivious to the situation. Teachers seem to be non-existent. And that taunting, bullying and harassment goes beyond the schoolhouse and out into the world. Making the situation even worse is that one of the bullies is the son of the junkyard man who bought the wrecked car in which TJ’s mom was killed. Wanting to stay safe and avoid confrontation, TJ even takes alleys and dirt roads to school. On one morning, he rides his bike through some new housing construction. Frustrated, angry and hurting, he lets loose his pain by throwing a rock through a window. And talk about a surprise. With the breaking of glass and arrival of a security guard, rising within the unfinished house is a dirty looking, tattooed man with long stringy hair and a nasty look and attitude. That man is HESHER.
Unfortunately for TJ, his little act of vandalism turns his world upside down as squatter HESHER has lost his “home” in the construction site. As a result, he shows up TJ’s door, demanding house rights, a place to sleep and eat…and use of the washing machine. Not happy with “free cable channels”, HESHER also makes an impression on the neighborhood when he climbs up the telephone pole in his tidy-whities, and hacks the pay cable. Caught between a rock and a hard place and not knowing how to explain HESHER, plus being intimated and afraid, TJ says nothing to his father and grandmother, but goes with the flow being spun by HESHER – “I am TJ’s friend.”
Adding to the mix is Nicole, someone that TJ considers his one true friend. A mousy clerk at the local grocery store, Nicole comes to TJ’s aid when he is attacked in the parking lot by the school bullies. Taking an immediate shine to Nicole, TJ is somewhat smitten with her and learning of her down and out luck, aims to be her guardian angel; that is, until HESHER interferes.
With HESHER in the house, life will never be the same. Sparking some life within TJ, HESHER pulls him into his world of heavy metal head-banging, pot smoking, daring do adventure, sometimes eliciting laughter, but more often fear and danger. The key though is that TJ starts to live again. And in the meantime, HESHER himself finds an emotional bond that he has long been afraid to face; a bond with TJ and with Grandma.
But how long before Paul wakes up, HESHER tires of his “game” or TJ gets hurt? And then what?
Is there nothing that Joseph Gordon-Levitt can’t do? And does he never stop working? He is mesmerizing as HESHER. Having just seen him as the over-zealous, sweet and funny Bert Rodriguez in “Elektra Luxx”, he shocked the hell out of me here with an almost Charles Manson deranged anti-Christ persona. So over the top so as to be frightening at times, provided for a dynamic, albeit demented, performance. Notable is the painstaking daily application of very specific tattoos crucial to the persona of HESHER that Gordon-Levitt endured.
A role in which Gordon-Levitt truly steps outside of the box, “HESHER, on the surface, is really exciting and fun…I think that’ll bring a lot of audiences. But what really got me about the character and this movie, is that there’s more to it than that. He’ll surprise you. You think you’ve got his number…but he’s actually quite a thinker…and even though he doesn’t pay any attention to the standard conventions of morality, I think he’s quite an ethical guy. As I read the script, I kept being surprised and kept being intrigued as to how the character grew and changed.” And yes ladies, Joe does his own “ass work”.
Rainn Wilson is wonderful as Paul, both sympathetic and empathetic on multiple levels conveying the depression and sense of immobility and “not dealing” that comes with a tragic loss of a loved one. For Wilson, “It was really exciting. It was thrilling to be able to do it and that Spencer would give me a chance…Instead of just casting a serious actor, he really wanted to do something with the casting on Paul and he was intrigued with the idea of having a mostly comic actor play a serious role, and see a different side of a person.” Stretching himself as an actor, we really see a different side of Wilson here.
A real standout is newcomer Devin Brochu. As TJ, he carries this film along with Levitt, and does so with perfection. More than holding his own going toe-to-toe against Levitt, Wilson and the legendary Piper Laurie, Brochu is engaging and likeable. He makes you feel and feel for him and with him. Praised by Wilson, “He is carrying the whole movie on his shoulders.” Brochu is equally appreciative of his co-stars describing them all as “great actors, great people, great role models.”
I am thrilled to see Piper Laurie tossing her hat into the ring. With a sweet performance as Grandma, Laurie proves again that she hasn’t lost her acting chops. She gives us an emotionally textured Grandma who is the antithesis of son Paul. Grandma wants to live life and enjoy and Laurie evokes same with nuance and perfectly timed dialogue. One of the standouts of HESHER as a whole is the chemistry between Laurie and Gordon-Levitt. A delight to watch. Crucial to the story is their relationship and had they not meshed, the film would have fallen flat. One downfall or disappointment, however, is Natalie Portman who was a bit weak and out of her element as the hapless, seemingly witless damsel in distress, Nicole, to the point of annoyance and inconsistency. Thankfully, however, Portman is also a producer on the project and her very name alone played a large part in getting HESHER made.
Written and directed by Susser, I have to admit that there are many elements of HESHER that I really like, but then there are others where I just had to scratch my head and go, “huh?”. However, overall, at the end of the day, I just want to see HESHER again and again. Told through the eyes of 13 year old TJ, the story and characters are filled with emotion – be it good, bad or indifferent – all of which perfectly meld together in a film that at its core is filled with heart (albeit laced with profanity, pornography and crass crudeness).
I asked Susser what seed gave birth to HESHER. “I’ve been wanting to make a film since I was 16 years old. I hoped that one day a script would show up in my door that I was going to love enough to try and make. It never happened. So, I had to write it. I didn’t really know what I was gonna write, but, it sort of ended up becoming this film about loss and dealing with loss. It’s something we all deal with at some stage in our lives. But I also didn’t want to make a film that was totally depressing, so by introducing this kind of crazy character [HESHER], he hopefully makes the film entertaining.”
In creating HESHER, Susser recalls his own youth. “When I was in junior high school and high school, I always remember these kind of Hesher-type characters that were hanging out in the shadows and smoking cigarettes. They were always really mysterious and I’ve always been fascinated with them.” Surprisingly, Susser was never a “victim” of the kind of antics HESHER executes in the film. “I probably have a lot of HESHER in me. I think we all do in a lot of ways. Sometimes he’s that voice in your head that you don’t necessarily say out loud, but HESHER just does.”
Capitalizing on the element of generational wisdom as a storytelling tool, Susser relies heavily on the storyline between HESHER and Grandma, which, thanks to the chemistry between Levitt and Laurie, is touching, tender, honest and at times, sweetly funny. The ultimate message is the best part of the movie and Susser succeeds in bringing the story arc full circle, achieving a beautiful conclusion. I will not divulge the ending, but suffice to say, it tugs at the heartstrings and tear ducts…priceless.
I have problems with the premise of a father so depressed and drugged that he just allows a stranger like HESHER to come into his home and just flop on his couch, eat at his table, watch porno in front of his young child. Similarly, incidents of bullying at school with no principal, teachers or parental advisement. Granted this is a film, but this is one rooted in reality and life that will resonate with some kind of truth to people. Understanding that Susser views this film as an exploration of how people deal with loss, and having endured similar losses myself and knowing others who have experienced the same, the entrance of HESHER into the family homestead borders on ludicrous. Strangers coming into your home, camping in the garage, on the lawn, in the driveway, walking around naked, watching porn – essentially taking over the house. This just doesn’t happen in a sane real world. There are points where the character of HESHER pushes to that of unbelievability. That said, what I do like, however, is the humanity buried within Hesher and the facade he puts on about being a stoned idiot and out of tune to life, the reveal of which is intricately woven into the story between HESHER and Grandma. “The thing about HESHER is that it sounds ridiculous to people because he’s so crass and gross and perverted, but if you listen to what people say, not how they say it, I think that’;s an important lesson to get from the film. Hesher goes about things the way he knows how. It’s not necessarily kosher or normal but it’s, what is he really saying. I think he represents a lot of good. He may seem crazy at times but maybe we’re all crazy.”
Feeling that this a “universal story”, technically, the film has a “timeless” feel to it. Done intentionally by Susser, he viewed HESHER as being “10 years ago, it could now; I really tried to avoid any kind of technology or any time stamps as much I could. It was really challenging on a small budget to be able to control the whole world.”
In what has to classified as a filmmaking coup, Susser even snared the rights to the songs of Metallica, something that the group has never released before for any film. When Susser was writing the script, “I put Metallica in there. The music is, in a lot of ways, an extension of the character. He’s very specific, Hesher…he likes Metallica, but even more specifically, he likes the early Metallica with Cliff Burton.” Known for their refusal to ever release rights for a film, everyone was sure Metallica would never agree to use of their songs, but after seeing a cut of the film, they liked the movie and gave their blessing for the music.
And do not miss the end credits! Handwritten and doodled black and white as it on a chalkboard, they are obscenely hysterical and so HESHER!
Surprising, entertaining, unconventional, irreverant, crass and at times very vulgar, HESHER is something, and someone, new and different that just explodes with life…and love.
Hesher – Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Paul – Rainn Wilson
TJ – Devin Brochu
Nicole – Natalie Portman
Grandma – Piper Laurie
Written and Directed by Spencer Susser.
