Hesher

2011 | 100 minutes | Rated R

In this corrosive domestic drama, a young boy who's bullied at school (Devin Brochu) loses his mom in a car crash, then suffers the neglect of his depressed father (Rainn Wilson) and spacey grandmother (Piper Laurie). When a mysterious stranger (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) abruptly takes up residence with the family, one wonders at first if this violent, foul-mouthed headbanger is some supernatural manifestation of the hapless kid's rage. Things blow up in short order as the new roomie torches property, puts the moves on a supermarket cashier the boy adores (Natalie Portman), and leads him into harm's way. Writer-director Spencer Susser and cowriter David Michod (Animal Kingdom) generate fresh hells at a surreally rapid clip but cop out with an incongruously sentimental ending. By Andrea Gronvall

Official Site: www.hesherthemovie.com
Director: Spencer Susser
Producer: Lucy Cooper, Matthew Weaver, Scott Prisand, Spencer Susser, Natalie Portman, Johnny Lin and Win Sheridan
Cast: Natalie Portman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rainn Wilson, Devin Brochu and Piper Laurie