THE STORY – When ultra-wealthy NYC teenager Balthy makes dramatic gun control videos to impress his activist crush. When an online troll targets his content, Balthy becomes convinced he’s communicating with a potential school shooter and embarks on an ill-advised journey to Texas to confront him.
THE CAST – Jaden Martell, Asa Butterfield, Chris Bauer, Jennifer Ehle, Anna Baryshnikov, Noah Centineo, Becky Ann Baker, Avan Jogia & Pippa Knowles
THE TEAM – Oscar Boyson (Director/Writer) & Ricky Camilleri (Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 91 Minutes
A shift is starting to emerge in the stories rising to Hollywood’s forefront. For the past few years, it felt like a multitude of films focused on the concept of “Eat the Rich” strayed away from a place of thoughtfully critical examination to full-fledged studio-tested opportunism. It’s not that there have never been films about the varying social dynamics derived from those in the highest of financial brackets, but it did come to a point in the 2020s where it was more so basked in insincerity. Now, audiences everywhere are beginning to witness a new prevalent theme that has captured the hearts of filmmakers, leading to what the industry will likely begin latching itself to—the deconstruction of the long-gestating red-waving of young men in today’s current social media climate. Just look at how a series like “Adolescence” has taken the world by storm in the first half of this year. Luckily, we’re still in the phase where what comes out now about this topic is from a place of genuine concern, but that doesn’t always mean it’s going to land. Thankfully, Oscar Boyson’s feature directorial debut, “Our Hero, Balthazar,” is a riotous dark comedy that manages to push all the right buttons in its curiosity about an isolation that is currently plaguing young male zoomers.
It’s been known that the male loneliness epidemic isn’t anything new. The traditional institutional perception of masculinity has clouded over young men for generations, which has made men struggle to create meaningful relationships with those around them, a pillar of integrating into any well-functioning society. It’s how characters such as “Taxi Driver’s” Travis Bickle, or the Joker, and others have been scarily thrust upon a pedestal as beacons of relatability. That’s where Jaeden Martell’s Balthazar (or, as he likes to be called, Balthy) comes into the scene. He’s a wealthy young New Yorker turning on the tears for likes on Instagram while retreating to his decadent high-rise penthouse, which his absentee father pays for. His mother Nicole (played by Jennifer Ehle) is always working, his life coach Anthony (played by Noah Centineo) is using his family for money, and his crush Eleanor (Pippa Knowles) sees through his pathetically constructed facade. So, in the hopes of proving Eleanor wrong, Balthazar travels down to Texas to befriend a potential school shooter, Solomon (played by Asa Butterfield), hoping his talk will finally turn into something productive for once.
Boyson and Ricky Camilleri’s script is sharp, dialing into various issues dripping from the same faucet: gun fetishism, farming emotions for social media interactions, and mass shootings. There’s a loneliness that plagues these characters, which is the rolling block of why they are constantly making all the wrong choices. So it makes sense that these two characters from different worlds are finding some sort of companionship between them to be enough, even if it is performative to a certain degree (and even borderline homoerotic at times).
While treading into what could be overtly morbid territory, Boyson keeps it light with humor that is certainly brimming on the point of edginess. It is ironic, considering the subject matter these two leads talk about on an obsessive level. There will inevitably be comparisons of “Our Hero Balthazar” to the films of the Safdie Brothers, most of which were produced by Boyson. It makes sense that their style will more than tangibly appear as an influence from the film’s visual aesthetic to the more obvious synth-based replication of Daniel Lopatin’s score of “Uncut Gems.” At least out of everyone who has gained some sort of sway from the Safdies’ style of filmmaking, Boyson can insert enough of himself to make it feel like its own. What Boyson does manage to replicate from them well is his sensibilities of perfectly casting his actors so that everything from his direction to their efforts as performers only brings out the best. The inclusion of Chris Bauer and Avan Jogia as two southern multi-level marketing crooks pushing testosterone pills to losers who are too desperate to think for themselves is nothing but genius.
Of course, it’s the fantastic lead performances by Martell and Butterfield that showcase a side of them that pushes them beyond their comfort zones. Martell taps into a similar range from his work on the underseen “Defending Jacob,” but here, he is perfect at creating a cringeworthy loner who fails to pick up any social cues. He’s teetering on being completely emotionally devoid of emotion, all while being coated by a shield built upon privilege. Butterfield, who has been working in film since he was a child (“Hugo“), has rarely been allowed to veer out into transformative territory on this level. Compared to his “Sex Education” counterparts Emma Mackey and Ncuti Gatwa, who are slowly taking over Hollywood, Butterfield hasn’t been able to get roles that showcase the type of performer he could be now. This may be the best work of his career so far and is a promising lens into the type of roles he should continue pursuing.
“Our Hero, Balthazar’s” messaging, while simplistic, wraps itself up nicely as it delivers plenty of anxiety-inducing moments that will keep audiences hooked. Boyson brings it all full circle in a manner that never comes off as painstakingly preachy, remembering first and foremost to deliver on the absurd laughs of a truly dark and disturbing premise. Who’s to say that whatever Boyson makes next will top this, but if “Our Hero, Balthazar” is any indication of his sensibilities as a filmmaker, then he’s transitioned to the next phase of his career with ease (and plenty of dick jokes).
