Devin Brochu

HESHER Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 13th, 2011 at 7:07 am

Grief is an ugly, raw, complicated, and necessary emotion.  I’ve never been a big fan of the Kübler-Ross Model (also known as the Five Stages of Grief) because it seems like something constructed more to comfort those dealing with the grief-stricken rather than an honest explanation of the griever’s emotions.  It says “What stage are you at because you’re kind of bumming the rest of us out.”  Hesher gives a giant middle finger to a pat, easily digestible notion of grief and instead throws the viewer into the violent, angry emotions that arise when grieving over the loss of a loved one.  Unfortunately, it never goes much deeper than that and the thematic simplicity keeps Joseph Gordon-Levitt from giving an honest performance because he’s stuck playing a contrived one-dimensional character who merely serves to illustrate a point.  Then the film, which at least had the consistency to hammer home its single theme, shoots itself in the foot with an ending unworthy of its tone and attitude.

New HESHER Trailer Cut by Writer/Director Spencer Susser

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: April 8th, 2011 at 11:21 am

Most directors don’t cut trailers for their own movies.  They don’t have the time and studios pay millions of dollars to companies whose sole purpose is to cut a trailer that will appeal to the widest audience possible regardless of whether or not that trailer is an accurate representation of the movie it’s marketing.  But that is not so with the official trailer for Hesher that was cut by the film’s writer and director Spencer Susser.  If I can judge Hesher by its trailer, then I’ll have no idea what to make of Hesher but at least it’s an accurate misunderstanding.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer and a statement of support by star Joseph Gordon-Levitt.  The film also stars Devin Brochu, Rainn Wilson, and Natalie Portman.  Hesher opens May 13^th.

First Trailer for HESHER Starring Devin Brochu, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Natalie Portman, and Rainn Wilson

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: February 19th, 2011 at 2:46 pm

Hesher first premiered at Sundance 2010 over a year ago, and was quickly picked up by Newmarket Films.  Since then, Joseph-Gordon Levitt upped his star status to Inception level, and Natalie Portman is a newly minted Oscar nominee.  But it’s taken awhile for Hesher, directed by Spencer Susser, to get to the screen.  Perhaps because of the rough subject material: Gordon-Levitt plays an apathetic loner pyromaniac who inserts himself into the life of T.J. (Devin Brochu), a young boy that moved into his grandma’s house with his father (Rainn Wilson) after T.J.’s mother died.  Heavy stuff — not the easiest sell.

However, if this new trailer is any indication, Hesher is at least worth a look as a major showcase for Mr. Gordon-Levitt.  Watch it after the break.

First Images from HESHER – Premiering at Sundance 2010 – Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Natalie Portman

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: December 4th, 2009 at 8:55 am

With Sundance 2010 a little over a month away, over the next few weeks, we are going to be posting a ton of images from all the films premiering at the festival.  While I’d love to tell you about the buzz on some of the Sundance films, almost none of them have been seen outside of the people at Sundance who make the decisions.  That’s why posting these first look images is always so much fun, as this is the first time most of us have gotten any info on these movies and we can use the images and synopses to try and guess if the films will be good or bad.  Of course with a film like Hesher (directed by Spencer Susser) – which stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Natalie Portman – I’m pretty sure this will be a film worth checking out.  Hit the jump for the synopsis and the images.  Look for a lot more Sundance stuff from now till the festival:

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