[yasr_overall_rating]
An ailing movie star comes to terms with his past and mortality.
“The Hero,” written and directed by Brett Haley, is a beautiful film that explores what is worth losing for a legacy beyond your lifetime.
Lee Hayden (played by Sam Elliott) is an aging western star that is well past his glory acting days and struggling to find even half way decent work to keep him going. After he finds out he is dying, he tries to make lasting connections and remake those that had long been broken before his time runs out.
Elliott’s performance is profound, and it is easy to tell that this script was written for him. Even the tiniest of looks is able to make the audience feel his every emotion. Laura Prepon is equally astounding in her role as the love interest. With at least a forty-year age difference between the two main stars, it would have been easy to make the film feel creepy, but instead, the movie glides across the awkwardness to make magic. Nick Offerman is a scene stealer as the lovable drug dealer doing dance moves across a balcony and is a highlight in a movie already so well cast.
The acting is profound enough to carry this film, but the thing that truly cements its place in greatness is the artistry that is captured by the camera. Such detail and focus are used to create beautiful panoramas and landscapes that let the solitary emotions fill the screen.
But while the landscape shots are beautiful, there are far too many of them. It slows down the pace of the movie to a crawl at moments. With the slow nature of the plot as it is, adding in the extra frills made it come to a standstill until they could drag us to the next comedic moment.
Past the slow pace, this film is a beautiful work of art that should be seen by everyone.
Now playing in select theaters
