Despite school shootings being one of the defining issues in modern America, few films are brave enough to tackle the issue head on, and even fewer have anything interesting to say about the psychological effect these constant shootings have on kids. Fortunately, Our Hero, Balthazar is here to save the day. The debut film from director Oscar Boyson and writer Ricky Camilleri stares into the empty soul of the nation, finding people who deserve more than their lot in life, and others who can destroy it without caring about what they’ve done. Asa Butterfield gives an astonishing performance as a troubled young man who is unfairly swept up in a rich kid’s fantasy, watching his life fall apart. Though some may find this bleak tale too much to handle, the film is more honest than most things I’ve seen lately trying to portray the “real” America. Think Eddington on a smaller scale with a less punishing runtime.
What does a kid have to do to get noticed around here? Despite being absurdly wealthy with zero material needs, teenager Balthazar Malone (Jaeden Martell) still desperately craves validation from his peers. Instead of looking inward to determine his own values and sense of self, he posts videos of himself weeping while begging for an end to school shootings. Prostrating himself on the internet accomplishes nothing, his videos going unseen and his classroom crush unimpressed. That is, until someone starts trolling Balthy in his comments, taunting him with his plans to shoot up a school in Texas. Instead of ignoring this troll, or reporting it to the authorities, Balthy decides to take things into his own hands.
Balthazar, unbeknownst to his mother (Jennifer Ehle) and sober companion (Noah Centineo), flies to Texas all by himself, having catfished Solomon (Asa Butterfield) in an attempt to get close to him and stop who he believes could be another school shooter. The only person who knows Balthazar’s plan, his classmate Eleanor (Pippa Knowles), is continually begging him to stop. From the jump, this misadventure is clearly doomed to fail, but Balthy doesn’t care. He just wants viral fame, which he feels he has earned. The film really soars when we see the things Balthy just does not comprehend. We spend time with Solomon at his trailer home with his grandma (Becky Ann Becker in a fun, entirely seated performance), watch him lose his minimum wage job, and potentially get involved in a pyramid scheme in an attempt to be close to his dirtbag father (Chris Bauer). Solomon is a real person, someone trying to find his identity too, but coming up against America’s roadblocks to success. This nation is sinking into the sea, with kids like Solomon who will be the first to drown. No wonder he loves his guns.
Some may want “more” from Balthazar himself, but I fear that’s precisely the point. He is an empty boy, focused on all the wrong things with no concept of who he’s hurting. At any moment during his crusade, he could stop. He could leave Solomon alone and go home. But he doesn’t! No spoilers as I await a wider release of the film, but Our Hero, Balthazar is too smart to make things neat and tidy. It’s a film about who gets to control the narrative, who tells the rest of the world what goes on in America. It’s not a pretty picture.
Our Hero, Balthazar
2026
Dir. Oscar Boyson
91 min
In theaters soon!
