Review of The Hero (2017) by Matt C — 22 Jun 2017

The Hero is one of those movies that, despite its flaws, is undeniably driven by its successes. The issue is that its successes are too diluted over what is a modest 96-minute runtime. Strong performances across the board and a hazy, dreamlike pace make the first half a really good-surprisingly really good-movie and a bit of a gem, but the way that it continues on with its periphery treatment of its protagonist's relationships and forced symbolism ware for the last 30 minutes or so.

Also, here's a pro-tip: if you're a director, never edit your own feature. You need another set of eyes to keep it going. I'm a sort of riff on Lost in Translation or The Wrestler, Lee Hayden (Sam Elliott) is a 71-year-old washed-up western star who's been diagnosed with cancer.

His relationships with his ex-wife Val (Katharine Ross) and daughter Lucy (Krysten Ritter) are strained and he spends most of his time drinking and smoking weed with his fellow washed-up actor friend/drug dealer Jeremy (Nick Offerman).

In the midst of wrestling with his mortality, Lee meets Charlotte (Laura Prepon), forging a somewhat-platonic/maybe-romantic relationship with her. If it sounds somewhat derivative, it's because it is at its core, but for a while, it doesn't feel like it.

Director/editor/co-writer Brett Hayes (I'll See You In My Dreams, which I didn't care for) keeps a hazy, languid pace with a nice rhythm between scenes and the interplay of his performers, often lightly cushioned by use of diegetic music.

It's softly lit and looks like real life, and all of the actors fit their common onscreen personas. The first hour is a peaceful experience. This obviously has a sort of metatextual value to it given the use of Elliott and his presence, and while it plays to his more commonly known strengths, he gets to showcase some more sensitive acting and sells it as well as you would expect him to.

It's a film that, in the hands of a lesser actor, likely wouldn't have worked at all. That's what shows to be the issue with The Hero: there isn't enough there beyond the surface in its second half and especially its last third.

Hayes's script, co-written by Marc Basch, begins to tread water and recycle not so much the same beats from earlier in this movie, but from other movies. When The Hero tries to handle Lee's relationships with Lucy and Val, it becomes more traditional, and not for the better.

What felt more experiential tries to lock itself onto narrative tracks and feels pulled down due to it. The presentation of the drama never reaches a maudlin quality, but Hayes's insistence on tonal repetition by way of his direction and editing make it feel longer than 96 minutes.

The Hero was never really much of anything that radically new, but it at least had a sense of pacing and maturity that set it apart for a good hour. Elliott is of course great and Prepon remains likable yet droll, and some scenes feature some rather beautiful dialogue.

But with each successive cut to a beach with the tide rolling in or references to poetry, Hayes's aim to present the story in an almost mystical way proves to be his downfall, his original intentions and fallback on on-the-nose conveying of themes not quite meshing.

6.5/10, okay, C+, average, etc.