By Scott Marks | SDUN Film Critic

Hesher (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is loud, unwashed, uncouth, violent, and has just taken up residence in the garage of a highly dysfunctional family grief stricken over a sudden loss. He’s also the character that makes “Hesher,” Spencer Susser’s feature debut one of the freshest and funniest black comedies to come down the pike in ages. Susser, a 34-year-old writer, director and editor, is the only American member of Australia’s Blue-Tongue Films, a collective responsible for last year’s Academy Award nominated “Animal Kingdom.” And if this film is any indication, expect to hear a lot more from him in the future.

“Hesher,” which also stars Natalie Portman, Rainn Wilson and newcomer Devin Brochu, starts its exclusive run on Fri. May 13, at Landmark’s Hillcrest Cinema.

Scott Marks: Hesher is the most original character I’ve seen come down the pike in some time. How would you describe him?

Spencer Susser: Hesher is someone who was basically abandoned as a child. We don’t really get into his backstory, but to me he was someone whose parents didn’t want him. He’s put up these walls to prevent himself from ever being hurt again. He’s become a kind of a proper loner. His relationship with this family and this grandmother (Piper Laurie) gives him a chance to feel again and to actually care. Here is this person who doesn’t judge him at all. It’s critical. It’s the movie.

SM: Everything you just said in your description of Hesher applies to T.J. (Devin Brochu)as well.

SS: Hesher is the kind of a guy who has nothing to lose. He doesn’t care if he lives or dies. T.J.’s mother just died and he feels like he has nothing to lose. You can’t hurt this kid. He’s been hurt way worse than anyone could ever hurt him physically. When Hesher first meets him there is something about that quality in T.J. that reminds him of himself.

SM: What a joy it is to watch Piper Laurie act. She still works occasionally – she was in “Hounddog” and “The Dead Girl”—but not often enough for my taste.

SS: I was so honored to get to work with Piper. She totally got it. In a lot of ways she got it just like the grandmother in the film. Part of what I think is important about the movie in terms of maybe a message (if there is such a thing) is to listen to what people say and not how they say it. Hesher has a lot of really good stuff to say; it just so happens that every other word out of his mouth is “f***.” If that turns you off, you will never actually get to hear what he says. Everything has a double meaning in a way. So when Piper read it she just saw past all that stuff.

SM: It’s been a long time since I was this impressed by a debut feature. It would break my heart if you suddenly followed this up with the next X-Men sequel. I don’t care how many zeros there are on the paycheck, please don’t go over to the dark side. Thanks for two great hours in the dark.

SS: Thanks so much. It’s hard to get independent films made, so you make them to avoid doing what (Hollywood) keeps doing. You can’t market independent films like you do the big blockbusters. I’m a huge believer in trying to make things fresh and do stuff that you don’t see every day. I want to make movies that I want to see.