Our Hero, Balthazar — Review
Source: Picturehouse
Movies that set out to deliver satirical social critique often feel like they are trying too hard to be edgy. Their humor seems aimed more at stirring controversy or provoking a strong reaction from the audience than at actually making them laugh. Oscar Boyson’s Our Hero, Balthazar, however, is a rare film that strikes the right balance. It tackles themes of gun violence, performative activism, social media, incel culture, privilege, and toxic masculinity. It is a dark and daring film, but it never forgets to be funny, and its edginess feels genuine rather than forced. Most of the film’s humor is the kind that leaves audiences in limbo, unsure whether to laugh, cringe, or stare in disbelief that someone actually put these ideas on screen and somehow made them work.
Jaeden Martell stars as the titular Balthazar, a spoiled, wealthy teenager living in New York City. He posts videos of himself crying on social media for attention, even watching other people’s crying videos and regurgitating what they say because he doesn’t have any real problems to cry about. During a school shooting drill, he meets an activist named Eleanor (Pippa Knowles), who’s very vocal about her stance on gun violence. Desperate to impress her, Balthazar pretends to care about stopping school shootings. His attempts to woo her fail so spectacularly that he could write a book on how to repel women.
Source: Picturehouse
In response to one of his videos, Balthazar—also known as Balthy—receives comments from a troll with the username deathdealer_16, who claims to be planning a school shooting of his own. Seizing the opportunity to actually stop a real-life school shooting, Balthy takes a trip to Texas to meet the mysterious deathdealer_16, who turns out to be another lonely teenager named Solomon Jackson (Asa Butterfield). Solomon lives in a trailer park with his grandmother and is desperately trying to earn the approval of his father, a former porn star turned testosterone-supplement salesman played by Chris Bauer. Shocked that anyone would fly all the way from New York to befriend him, Solomon gives Balthy a chance, and the two form one of the most bizarre, unlikely friendships ever committed to screen—if you can even call it a friendship.
Our Hero, Balthazar is a unique, fascinating character study about two totally different yet equally desperate and lonely young men. Oscar Boyson and Ricky Camilleri’s sharp screenplay defies genre conventions and is unapologetic in its social commentary without reducing the characters to caricatures. As much as Balthy and Solomon may induce secondhand embarrassment in viewers, most people will regrettably be able to say they’ve met people just like them. The only drawback is that the film might be trying to cover too many topics at once, making it feel a little tonally and thematically discombobulated. However, the film takes many bold swings, and some are incredibly effective.
Source: Picturehouse
The performances are phenomenal. Jaeden Martell portrays Balthy as whiny and wimpy while behaving in ways that will leave audiences wondering, “What the fuck?” What makes it work is how seriously Martell commits to the role. He plays Balthy with a deadpan sincerity, which only makes the character’s ridiculous behavior equal parts funny and discomforting. Asa Butterfield completely loses himself in the role of Solomon. The hair, makeup, and costume departments deserve recognition for Butterfield’s transformation, as he is almost completely unrecognizable. His performance is unbelievably unnerving. He plays Solomon like the kind of person who is so pathetic and behaves in such unusual ways that you want to laugh at some of the things he says—but you’re also terrified you might set him off. Solomon is unhinged and erratic, so you never know what he’s going to do from one minute to the next, which is part of what makes this film such a gripping character study.
Christopher Messina’s cinematography captures the film’s frenetic energy while heightening its uneasy atmosphere, echoing the anxious visual style he brought to If I Had Legs I’d Kick You last year. The camerawork often feels voyeuristic, turning the audience into uncomfortable witnesses to Balthy and Solomon’s increasingly unstable behavior. Even as situations spiral out of control, the camera ensures you cannot look away, underscoring the urgency and real-world consequences of the relentless pursuit of online attention and validation.
Source: Picturehouse
Our Hero, Balthazar shares some of the same DNA as Ari Aster’s Eddington (2025), another satire that strains under the weight of too many ideas. The difference is that Our Hero, Balthazar ultimately narrows its focus, zeroing in on gun violence and giving the story a clearer narrative throughline. While Eddington disperses its attention across a large ensemble, Our Hero, Balthazar centers almost entirely on two characters, making the story more engaging and allowing the humor to land with greater precision. It’s the most idiosyncratic, audacious film about school shootings since Matt Johnson’s The Dirties (2013), and it plays out like Dan Gilroy’s Nightcrawler (2014) for the TikTok generation. Yet despite those comparisons, Our Hero, Balthazar feels unlike any film I’ve seen before. I spent much of the runtime with a perplexed expression on my face, oscillating between cringing from secondhand embarrassment, laughing at the absurdity, and marveling at how brazen the screenplay is.
Oscar Boyson’s feature directorial debut is an unflinching satire that forces viewers to confront and reflect on the ways our society amplifies loneliness, violence, obsession, and attention-seeking behavior. Thanks to a bold, clever screenplay and strong, unsettling performances from Jaeden Martell and Asa Butterfield, the film is darkly funny and disturbing all at once. While its subject matter may alienate some viewers, it’s the kind of film that will make you laugh, squirm, and question humanity. Unlike anything else in theaters right now, Our Hero, Balthazar leaves a strangely unforgettable impression.
Our Hero, Balthazar hits theaters on March 27, 2026.
