A school shooting put to film is rightfully incredibly controversial to land in a sensitive manner. Go too far in either direction, and run the risk of seriously offending a large percentage of viewers. Refusing to bend the knee to convention, this unique film takes the Nightcrawler approach in allowing its doomed scenario to play out, letting the audience judge the morality for themselves. Debut writer/director Oscar Boyson puts a magnifying glass to performative Gen Z culture in his propulsive, sardonically comedic Our Hero, Balthazar. Rather than glamorizing violence or showing us a shooting in real time, Boyson provides two juxtaposing perspectives in the lead up to an explosive event. It also emphasizes that there are true consequences in our words and actions—so many people on the internet just taunt or send the most horrendous things without contemplating who is on the receiving end. There’s nothing accidental in the way a wealthy NYC sociopath catfishes his way into the life of a potentially struggling Texas incel.
Donning one snazzy earring and fashionable teen attire, Balthazar (Jaeden Martell, Stephen King’s It, Y2K)—Balthy for short—spends his time recording phony emotional reaction videos in expert lighting from his cushy million-dollar apartment. He channels his reactions through a social media filter, becoming an echo chamber for more honest reactions he finds. Balthy can make himself cry on demand, and seems extremely detached from reality. When he becomes fixated on passionately anti-gun scholarship student, Eleanor (Pippa A. Knowles), Balthy’s true colors begin to emerge. Anyone who tries to make a move while watching real surveillance footage of a shooting probably has a severe issue. In this role, Martell expertly slips between emotionally blank and freakishly demented, almost the true villain of the piece.
Deathdealer16 decides to direct message Balthy after seeing one of his reaction videos. Could the mystery man be a potential school shooter? At first, this random online persona appears onscreen as only a voice, then in a Pretty Little Liars-style lair to emphasize the cartoonishness. In reality, Solomon (Asa Butterfield, Sex Education, Ender’s Game) lives in a trailer caring for his aging grandmother (Becky Ann Baker, Men In Black, Storm of the Century), struggling to pay the rising rent on their trailer. Concurrently, his estranged former porn star turned Thrush supplement salesman father, Beaver Jackson (Chris Bauer, The Deuce, True Blood), pushes for Solomon to be more involved in the business side of things. Butterfield is virtually unrecognizable—in glasses and dirty blonde unshaven hair, his Solomon still manages to garner more sympathy than Balthy. Despite driving around blasting angry music, an obsession with anime, and a dead end job, Solomon at least seems authentic, if not a perfect person. Solomon may have school shooter potential, but would he actually commit the heinous acts he boasts about?
As the title would suggest, Balthy seems destined to become a hero. He gets it into his head that he needs to uncover Deathdealer16’s true identity before the unthinkable happens. If that means impersonating a hot girl and using AI to morph her image and voice, then so be it. The intentions behind Balthazar’s actions could certainly be interpreted as problematic. Under his smoke and mirrors, Balthy really just wants to impress Eleanor. A remark about how a random shooting doesn’t matter because “no one’s gonna care” unless carried out at a school speaks to Balthy’s character in a disturbing way. Closed off emotionally, Balthy may be unable to have basic regard for human life, or an empathy whatsoever.
Yet, in the strange friendship that forms between Balthy and Solomon, a connection takes shape that neither boy anticipates. The clever script finds many overlaps with these characters, whether it be their girl issues, or their lack of closeness to others. Their opposing upbringings also highlight the privileges and limitations in both scenarios. As Balthy absorbs more of Solomon’s world in Texas, he seems a little too enamored by the darkness Solomon presents. Balthy’s stale world of life coaches and bored mothers who ignore his birthday disappears here, where at least he can brush up against the fringes of society. Balthy’s vapid NYer attitude crunches up against those in Solomon’s small Texas town. Our circumstances and parental guides impact us on a level so deep that sometimes it takes distance to glimpse the imprint they have left.
As we approach the climax, Oscar Boyson follows an arc for his leads that further underlines the central themes. There are consequences to actions that can inevitably end up hurting the innocent more than the guilty. In a climate where faking it till you make it is praised more than trying and failing, Our Hero, Balthazar captures a wildly entertaining snapshot of two flawed young men whose lives are swept up in a wildfire of Xanex and viral videos.
Our Hero, Balthazar premiered at 2025’s Tribeca International Film Festival.
