Brett Haley’s “The Hero” is a touching film that takes on one’s life of dealing with potential death after being diagnosed with cancer. Despite having a celebrated life as a western actor, who knows that his accolades is the past and now he must deal with the present. A fractured relationship with his daughter and a new relationship with a woman probably 50-years younger than him but constant dreams of death and not knowing how to deal with it. Featuring a wonderful performance by Sam Elliott and Laura Prepon, “The Hero” is a film worth checking out!
TITLE: The Hero
FILM RELEASE: 2017
DURATION: 97 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (2:35:1), English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish Subtitles
COMPANY: Lionsgate
RATED: PG-13
RELEASE DATE: September 19, 2017
Directed by Brett Haley
Written by Brett Haley, Marc Basch
Produced by Sam Bisbee, Erik rommesmo
Executive Producer: Lance Acord, Jackie Kelman Bisbee, Frank Brenner, David Bunce, Franklin Carson, Theodora Dunlap, Danny Rifkin, Jeff Schlossman, Bill Wallwork
 Co-Producer: Amy Jarvela
Music: Keegan DeWitt
Cinematography: Rob Givens
Edited by Brett Haley
Casting by Emily Schweber, Lisa Zambetti
Production Design by Eric J. Archer
Set Decoration: Melissa Licht
Costume Design: Alana Morshead
Starring:
Sam Elliott as Lee Hayden
Laura Prepon as Charlotte Dylan
Nick Offerman as Jeremy Frost
Krysten Ritter as Lucy Hayden
Katharine Ross as Valarie Hayden
Max Gail as Gary Babcock
Jackie Joyner as Betsy
Patrika Darbo as Diane
Starring Sam Elliott as a former Western icon fearlessly reckoning with his life, his image, and most importantly, his heart after a surprise diagnosis.
From Brett Haley (director of “I’ll See You in My Dreams”, “The New Year”) comes his latest film, “The Hero” (co-written with Marc Basch).
Having worked with actor Sam Elliott (“We Were Soldiers”, “Tombstone”, “Up in the Air”, “Hulk”) in “Ill See You in My Dreams”, both Brett Haley and Marc Basch crafted “The Hero” for Sam Eliott, who they were fans but also wanted to work with him again.
Co-starring in the film is Laura Prepon (“That 70’s Show”, “The girl on the Train”, “Orange is the New Black”), Nick Offerman (“Parks and Recreation”, “The Founder”, “Fargo”), Krysten Ritter (“Jessica Jones”, “Big Eyes”, “Breaking Bad”) and also starring Elliott’s real life wife, actress Katharine Ross (“The Graduate”, “Donnie Darko”, “The Stepford Wives”).
The film begins with well-known western actor Lee Hayden (portrayed by Sam Eliott) working on recording a voice over in the studio, he calls his doctor and finds out that his cancer has gotten worse but can get treatment to extend his life but he will need to decide whether to pursue the cancer treatment or not.
Lee often smokes a lot of marijuana which he gets from his friend, fellow actor Jeremy Frost (portrayed by Nick Offerman), a man he worked on a major show long ago.
Also, going to Jeremy for drugs is comedian, Charlotte Dylan (portrayed by Laura Prepon) and Jeremy introduces the two to each other. If there is one positive thing that is happening in Lee’s life, he is being honored with a lifetime achievement award.
Having to deal that he may die soon, Lee wants to make things right with his estranged daughter Lucy (portrayed by Krysten Ritter). Lee visits his ex-wife Valarie (portrayed by Katharine Ross) to find a way to get in contact with Lucy and he meets up with her at the tennis courts and finds out that Lucy now works as an ad salesperson at Google.
Lee wants to connect with Lucy and tell him the truth and wants her to accompany him to the lifetime achievement award but she brushes him off and tells him that she’s busy and would rather have dinner with him.
As the thoughts of dying become part of his dreams/nightmares, may it reliving his life on a Western and approaching a man that hung himself (which happens to be him) or walking towards the ocean, he eventually meets with Charlotte and she ends up being his date to the lifetime achievement event and gives him Molly, to get him to relax and have a good attitude throughout the event.
And things work out well that the two start having a sexual relationship.
But Lee feels guilty because he’s an older man and feels he shouldn’t be with a young woman, meanwhile knowing that he may not live that long and it hurts him that he hasn’t told his family or anyone.
Will Lee make piece with his daughter and will his relationship with Charlotte continue?
VIDEO:
“The Hero” is presented in 1080p High Definition (2:35:1). Picture quality is magnificent as closeups showcase incredible detail and outdoor scenes are vibrant.
I saw no sign of banding or artifact issues. The film looks great on Blu-ray!
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“The Hero” is presented in English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. Featuring crystal clear dialogue and musical score, the film is primarily front-channel driven.
Subtitles are in English SDH and Spanish.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“The Hero” comes with an audio commentary with director Brett Haley and actor Sam Elliott and a photo gallery.
EXTRAS:
“The Hero” comes with Blu-ray and UltraViolet code.
A touching film about a legendary western actor dealing with the reality that he has cancer and doesn’t have long to live, what things does he want to accomplish in the life that he has left?
A film directed and written by Brett Haley and co-written with Marc Basch, the two men crafted this story for actor Sam Eliott and what they managed to pull off is a film that deals with thoughts of one’s pending death and making difficult decisions to go through a treatment that will prolong his life but will he?
While he has had a great acting career, Elliott’s character, Lee Hayden is a man that is broken. Having focused on his career and divorcing his wife Valarie and not spending any time with his daughter Lucy, he wants to repair the fractured relationship but doesn’t know how.
The main person in his life is a co-star, Jeremy Frost (portrayed by Nick Offerman) who supplies him with marijuana to calm his mind.
And as his career is still continuing and he is being honored for a lifetime achievement award, what Lee Hayden is not expecting is to meet with a beautiful comedian named Charlotte (portrayed by Laura Prepon) and have a sexual relationship with her. Despite being an older man, Lee has jitters and feels weird about it (she doesn’t) and she opens him to a life that he never had.
But perhaps this extra piece of vitality will make him stronger to want to live but also repair things with his daughter Lucy.
For the most part, it’s a fascinating film in which Sam Elliott does a great job with the role but the person who truly shines is actress Laura Prepon who takes on teh role of carefree Charlotte and couldn’t care what people thinks, she walks on the beat of her own drum and has no qualms being with a man in his ’70s.
The Blu-ray features great picture quality and lossless audio features crystal clear dialogue and music. Special features are only an audio commentary, as director Brett Haley explains in the commentary that he’s not a person who likes to include deleted scenes as his final cut, is the cut he wants everyone to see.
Overall, Brett Haley’s “The Hero” is a touching film that takes on one’s life of dealing with potential death after being diagnosed with cancer. Despite having a celebrated life as a western actor, who knows that his accolades is the past and now he must deal with the present. A fractured relationship with his daughter and a new relationship with a woman probably 50-years younger than him but constant dreams of death and not knowing how to deal with it.
Featuring a wonderful performance by Sam Elliott and Laura Prepon, “The Hero” is a film worth checking out!
