Much like the heavy metal and flames that seem to surround Hesher (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), the eponymous character, the film itself is basically a punch in the face without any emotional follow-through.  Hesher is about a young boy whose mother recently died in a horrible car crash and his deadbeat dad (Rainn Wilson) who can’t seem to get his shit together for his young son. So, when a transient bad boy named Hesher ends up crashing on their couch, the two grieving men have their tragic lives shaken up.

Gordon-Levitt is a talented actor, but, as Hesher, he is slightly show-offy and one-note, even if he’s trying desperately to succeed in a role no one would have most likely cast him in. Natalie Portman pops up as a local grocery cash register in a brief role. Wilson does a decent job of playing depressed well.

Hesher is worth a look if you’re trying to get artier films in before the blockbuster smorgasbord that is the next couple of months, but don’t expect it to get all deep and profound on you—it really is about a dude who loves porn, beer, Metallica, and lighting shit on fire.

--Darcie Duttweiler