Though Hesher is Spencer Susser’s feature debut, his directing career really began in 2008 with an impressive short film called I Love Sarah Jane. The short drew acclaim from all kinds of festivals and – more importantly – paved the way for his involvement with soon-to-be producer Natalie Portman; Susser sent her Sarah Jane and the script for Hesher, and the multi-talented actress was so impressed she quickly joined the project as a producer and co-star. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Rainn Wilson signed on soon after, and Hesher eventually premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

Gordon-Levitt’s lead performance as Hesher is a sight to behold. He’s a long-haired, foul-mouthed anarchist who loves Metallica and blowing stuff up. Hesher feels more like a force than a character; he slices through this movie like a scythe, influencing the actions of a young boy named T.J. (Devin Brochu) who recently lost his mother in a car accident. T.J.’s father (Rainn Wilson) has fallen into a depression – he was the one driving during the accident – and has turned to pills for the answer, but their only effects are inducing sleep and essentially removing all vitality from his life. After Hesher inexplicably moves in to T.J.’s house, the movie turns into a story of a bizarre friendship, a love triangle involving a grocery store cashier (Natalie Portman), and a coming-of-age tale of the difficulties of moving on after a traumatic event.

The film feels like a Sundance movie: melodramatic moments, shouting matches, dimly lit and cheaply furnished sets, and an intimate shooting style all collide to form a movie that is interesting to watch and is perhaps a bit better when digested over the course of a few days. The performances are all very strong, and Gordon-Levitt’s outrageous character will be enough to warrant a watch for his fans, but this is certainly not a movie for everybody. Susser co-wrote Hesher with Animal Kingdom writer/director David Michod, and if you’ve seen that movie, you may notice some of the same sensibilities among these two films. It’s a deliberate movie that has no problem taking its time with its characters, and though Gordon-Levitt is fantastic in it, he’s actually more of a secondary character than T.J., who is front and center with his struggles for the duration. Portman plays a mousy mashup of many characters she’s played before, but in a testament to her considerable talent, I found her performance infinitely charming to watch.

Bottom line? Hesher is a well-executed movie that’s worth checking out if you’re a die-hard JoGo Levitt or Portman fan. It’s a bit slow at parts, but Hesher’s metal moments are enough to make up for the occasional floundering element. I’m actually more interested in Susser’s current attempts to turn his Sarah Jane short into a feature film, so perhaps one day there will be a review of that full-length feature on this site. Until next time…

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We got a look at the first poster last week, and now Wrekin Hill Entertainment has released the first official trailer for Hesher, which stars Joseph Gordon-Levit, Natalie Portman, and Rainn Wilson.

You can watch the trailer below:

Hesher, directed by Spencer Susser, tells the story of T.J. (Devin Brochu) and his father (a very bearded Rainn Wilson) after the loss of T.J.’s mother. Hesher (Gordon-Levitt) is a troubled loner who befriends T.J., leading him into all sorts of trouble. Natalie Portman, who is also producing, stars as a young grocery store clerk.

As the movie is independently produced it won’t be getting a wide release, but the movie’s Twitter feed and Facebook page claim it will be out May 13th, 2011.

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Fans of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who was last seen in Inception, have been waiting well over a year to see Hesher. It was first screened at the Sundance Film Festival in January of 2010, but has yet to be released. A new poster, with Gordon-Levitt looking as bad ass as ever, may spark hope in those anticipating the movie.

While the poster doesn’t appear to have a release date on it, which isn’t always a good sign, the movie’s Twitter feed and Facebook page claim it will be out May 13th, 2011.

Hesher, directed by Spencer Susser, tells the story of T.J. (Devin Brochu) and his father (a very bearded Rainn Wilson) after the loss of T.J.’s mother. Hesher (Gordon-Levitt) is a troubled loner who befriends T.J., leading him into all sorts of trouble. Natalie Portman (Black Swan) also stars as a young grocery store clerk.

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All I can say is… HOT!  A new poster for The Rocker, starring Rainn Wilson playing an aging drummer for his nephew’s band, has appeared online!

Check out all the nipple-icious Rainn-ey goodness…

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Funny actor man Rainn Wilson from Juno and The Office revealed that he will be playing:

“A professor that turns into a car that turns into a robot,”

See, I told you he was funny.

This casting along with the fact that they wanted to bring on Jonah Hill (Superbad), shows that Michael Bay and friends want to turn Transformers 2 into a comedy, surrounded by battling robots. Personally, I’d rather have Transformers 2 go down the more serious route, but comic relief now and again shouldn’t be too bad, as long as they don’t go overboard.

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Rainn Wilson (The Office, Juno, The Last Mimzy) is in another mindless movie! In this one he plays an aging rocker who gets a second chance at stardom… in his nephew’s band!

The Rocker tells the story of a failed drummer who is given a second chance at fame. Robert “Fish” Fishman is the extremely dedicated and astoundingly passionate drummer for the eighties hair band Vesuvius, who is living the rock n’ roll dream until he is unceremoniously kicked out of the band. Twenty years after his rock star fantasies are destroyed, just when Fish has finally given up all hope, he hears that his nephew’s high school rock band A.D.D. is looking for a new drummer. They reluctantly make him the newest member of the band, giving him a chance to reclaim the rock God throne he’s always thought he deserved, and taking the young band along for the ride of their lives.

Looks… KIND of funny. The new poster actually makes me want to laugh a little:

I’ll probably go to see it, only because I can go for free… and so can you! If you live in the Boston, MA area, click on the picture below, print it out, and bring it to the Boston Common AMC on Tremont Street next Thursday, May 22, 2008 for a chance to see the movie. Each ticket is good for two people!

Enjoy!

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