Our Hero, Balthazar Review – funny comedy about incel culture and gun violence | Video

‘Me “thinking it’s good to be part of the crowd” is how Manhattan’s rich kid Balthazar (Jaeden Martell) admits to his passion: sending tear-jerking videos in which he pretends to be one of a group of young Americans who complain about the national gun epidemic. media, “incel”, self-help and US commercial culture – in a darkly unsettling, powerfully directed drama that recalls the take-no-prisoners mockery of Jason Reitman’s early films.

Balthazar is trying to win his attention, Eleanor (Pippa Knowles), whom he enthusiastically plays as the victim of a school shooting. When he blows his luck by trying to make out with her while showing her the latest killer footage, he ups his game. Avoiding further bloodshed will certainly prove his dedication to his cause, and the trollish incel named deathdealer_16, who has been harassing him on his chats, looks like he’s ready to pounce. By fishing for her by posing as a beautiful online virgin, Balthazar sets up an IRL group.

Deathdealer_16 becomes Solomon (Asa Butterfield), a Texan who lives in a trailer with his grandmother, none of whom are happy to see Balthazar. But the two strike up a friendship, with Balthazar distracted by snipers, and Solomon determined to convince the New Yorker that there’s more to him than just messing around. Touting the sexiness (“Wait till you see the rest of what I’m carrying,” says Solomon after revealing his gun in the glove box), the film powerfully conveys this gentle interdependence. It’s a buddy movie about the misunderstandings and obsessions between liberals and the red-American government, meaning resignation and glorification of gun violence aren’t all that different.

Elsewhere, Boyson’s satire can be overt, as with the Magnolia-style motivational parties hosted by Solomon’s silverback father (Chris Bauer), and spread too far for its purposes. Not without the odd good gag, as Balthazar speaks his mother’s words to Solomon, who also sends his father pornographic pictures.

The movie is straining to come to a terrifying climax, however, and the focus is very much on the incel. This is good news for Butterfield, who shows his transformation from schlubby problems to good-guy behavior, but less so for Martell, who is very impressive in his vulnerability. The two make a romantic duo: a double declaration of America’s failure.