Hesher

An anarchist brings new life to a family suffering from loss.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt goes scary crackhead in this deranged coming-of-age comedy. Looking like a tattooed Motörhead roadie, he veers from scary-cool to total Molotov cocktail in a blink. He walks in the door of a 13-year-old boy (Devin Brochu) mourning the loss of his mom, and his devastated, pill-popping father (Rainn Wilson in a solid dramatic performance). Hesher plunks down on their sofa and becomes the troubled family’s grief counselor/repressed id. Natalie Portman is a sad-sack cashier who becomes the boy’s first crush. Gonzo, grungy, one of a kind. (100 min.) 3 1/2 out of 4 stars