Our Hero, Balthazar

by Mike McGranaghan

Few things are as tricky as making a movie that’s even tangentially related to the subject of school shootings. One wrong step and the potential to be offensive is astronomical. Our Hero, Balthazar manages to tread that fine line perfectly. The film, from director Oscar Boyson (producer of Funny Pages and Uncut Gems), is top-tier social commentary, using hints of dark comedy to make smart observations about gun violence in America.

Balthazar (Jaeden Martell) is a rich NYC kid seeking the attention of his perpetually distracted mother (Jennifer Ehle). While fooling around online, he discovers a post from a Texas teen who claims to be prepping to shoot up a school. A desire to impress a female classmate drives Balthazar to sneak off to the Lone Star state, hoping to talk the would-be shooter out of his plan. That’s how he meets Solomon (Asa Butterfield), a gun-loving redneck with a penchant for tough talk and a father (Chris Bauer) who runs a pyramid scheme.

Where the story goes from there is consistently surprising. The young men develop a friendship that evolves in complex, unpredictable ways. In a particularly clever twist, they are not easily put inside a box. Neither is exactly how you think they are upon first glance. Solomon is smarter than he looks (or acts), whereas Balthazar’s privilege makes him weirdly naïve. Solomon gives off a shady vibe but has a sensitive side; Balthazar appears outwardly normal but can come off as creepy. Both characters talk a good game while trying to downplay parts of their personalities. Scenes between them can be either hilarious or heartbreaking, depending on where they are in their respective journeys.

Our Hero, Balthazar deals with some of the root causes of violence: loneliness, feeling disempowered, low self-esteem, and, of course, easy access to guns for disgruntled individuals. The look at disempowerment is especially striking. Solomon is made to feel like he’s not a real man by his father. A yearning to earn approval blinds him from the fact that his father is a piece of garbage. The more he’s mistreated, the angrier he becomes - and the harder he tries to prove his manliness through superficial demonstrations. Boyson’s screenplay, co-written with Ricky Camilleri, is smart in the way it shows the accumulation of factors that can lead to shootings.

Martell is very good as Balthazar, conveying the social awkwardness that his family’s money can’t fix. Butterfield, however, is a total revelation. The Ender’s Game and Hugo actor physically transforms himself to play the unsophisticated Solomon. I didn’t even recognize him at first. His performance is a marvel, filled with layers and nuances that feel stunningly authentic. Butterfield deserves award consideration for taking a character who could have been a “bumpkin” cliché and turning him into a multidimensional figure we can legitimately care about.

Parts of Our Hero, Balthazar are darkly funny, which is important given the serious nature of the subject matter. We laugh at the odd couple chemistry between Balthazar and Solomon, not at the horrific reality of mass shootings. The film ends on a note that says something about how we ironically view shooters, specifically how the national gun debate occasionally turns one of them into a Second Amendment hero. There’s a lot to chew on here, and you’re guaranteed to be thinking about these guys for a long time afterward. This is easily one of the year’s best, most electrifying pictures.

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