7/08/2016

Hesher (2010) - Susser's immature, rebel-centered debut



1 Film Excess nomination:

Best Child Actor: Devin Brochu (lost to Kiernan Shipka for Mad Men S4) 

The poster for Spencer Susser's Hesher emulates old heavy rock styles just as the film itself does

The boy TJ gets bullied crudely and is neglected at home by his grief-stricken father, when the crazy, stoned out individualist Hesher moves in with them, unannounced and uninvited.

Hesher is the feature debut for co-writer/director Spencer Susser (Lana Del Rey: Summertime Sadness (2012, music video)), a very strange, downbeat and violence-preoccupied dramedy. Its main quality might be the impressive cast, Susser has managed to gather in it: Piper Laurie (The Crossing Guard (1995)), Natalie Portman (Black Swan (2010)) who also co-produced it, Rainn Wilson (The Stream (2013)) and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Premium Rush (2012)) as the dubious title hero. The boy actor Devin Brochu (Rubber (2010)) stands out in the bunch; he is very good and cinematic in Hesher.
Under scrutiny, the film appears incredibly immature and unreal. It is a slight affair that may attract some young audiences. Susser co-wrote it with David Michôd (Animal Kingdom (2010)), based on a story by Brian Charles Frank (Wolfpack of Reseda (2012), TV-series).

Related posts:

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]




Here's a trailer for the film

Cost: 7 mil. $
Box office: 0.449 mil. $
= Box office disaster
[Hesher premiered January 22 (Sundance) and runs 105 minutes. It was filmed May - June 2009 in California. It opened #36 in 42 theaters to a small 126k $ first weekend, its widest weekend in North America, where it grossed 382k $. It made 66k $ in Italy but other international grosses are not made public. The catastrophic performance of the film probably accounts for Susser's not having made a film to follow it up yet. Hesher is rotten at 54 % with a 5.7 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Hesher?

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