[7]

As a bullied grade-schooler (Devin Brochu) grapples with his mother’s death, an enigmatic stoner bad boy named Hesher (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) bursts into his life and further complicates things. At first, I worried that Gordon-Levitt would slip into show-off mode, but he ends up striking a good balance. Hesher’s presence and function in the movie begs a fantastic interpretation. I choose to think of him as some sort of twisted Harvey rabbit character. Those trying to yank the story into reality may be disappointed with how freewheeling director Spencer Susser is with the material. In lesser hands, Hesher would have surely wallowed in sentimentality, but Susser keeps the film floating somewhere over reality. I’d have made a few changes in the final minutes to keep things less pointed, but the film’s odd-ball characters quickly grew on me, and the story’s unpredictability and dark turns kept me engaged. Young Brochu delivers a remarkable leading performance, backed up by fine supporting turns from Natalie Portman, Rainn Wilson, and Piper Laurie.