While good movies come and go, bad movies come and come and keep coming–though perhaps they have reached their nadir with "Hesher," opening here today without the shadow of a single thing to recommend it.
Hesher, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt with skanky hair, lots of self-inflicted crude and ugly tattoos and a personality that is savage, sadistic and anti-social, is a young man filled with anger against practically everyone. This comes out as he terrorizes a boy known as T.J. (Devin Brochu), fire-bombs things, steals other things, and glories in his lack of feelings. How director Spencer Susser ever drew such as Natalie Portman and Piper Laurie into this cesspool is a mystery.
Susser and his co-writer, David Michod, are members of a loose group called Blue Tongue films, six Aussies and Susser, who is American. They seem to have patterned themselves and their anti-tradionalist agenda after the Scandinavian Dogme 95 group, but this one shows an amazing absence of talent.
A "hesher," I'm told, is someone who is a fan of heavy metal music, an oxymoron if ever I heard one. My knowledge came through a couple named John and Jane, who are responsible for "Two Jews on Film," via You Tube. They awarded "Hesher," 4 1/2 bagels (of a possible five) loaded with lox, cream cheese, onions and cucumber.
Hesher opens today
—Joe