Reel Review: Hesher is a 2010 drama film directed and written by Spencer Susser and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Natalie Portman, and Rainn Wilson. First screened at the Sundance Film Festival January 22, 2010, the film was released in the United States on May 13, 2011.
What’s Inside: After the tragic loss of his mother, T. J. (Devin Brochu) and his pill popping father (Rainn Wilson) are forced to live with T. J.’s elderly grandmother (Piper Laurie). A young man with a troubled past named Hesher (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) assumes the role of both mentor and tormentor, leading T. J. into troubles he could never have imagined.
Wrapping It Up: “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. Comical and yet darkly weighty. This movie centers on hopelessness, and yet is not without hope, hidden in the very darkness of the jokes it cracks.