Our Hero, Balthazar
Millennial Taxi Driver about privileged teen's dangerous spiral through online delusions
The brief
Oscar Boyson crafts a tense character study that feels like a millennial Taxi Driver filtered through extremely online anxieties. Jaeden Martell perfectly embodies privileged teenage desperation, making every misguided attempt at heroism both cringey and genuinely unsettling. The film builds dread through awkward social media interactions and increasingly poor decisions, creating this queasy feeling that something terrible is always just around the corner. If you're drawn to uncomfortable movies about young men spiraling into dangerous delusions, this hits like a more grounded version of We Need to Talk About Kevin.
The verdict
If you're drawn to psychologically uncomfortable character studies about privileged young men making increasingly dangerous choices, this tense millennial update on Taxi Driver delivers genuine dread through brilliant cringe comedy. If you prefer your protagonists likeable or need clear moral resolution, skip this deeply unsettling portrait of online radicalization and teenage delusion.
Watch with
- 👤 Solo viewing for maximum discomfort
- ⚠️ Skip if you're sensitive to toxic masculinity
Heads up
- Threatened violence and extremist themes (moderate)
- Uncomfortable stalking behavior (moderate)
- Online harassment and toxic interactions (frequent)
Credits
- Director
- Oscar Boyson
- Cast
- Jaeden Martell, Asa Butterfield, Jennifer Ehle, Pippa Knowles, Chris Bauer, Anna Baryshnikov, Noah Centineo
Official synopsis
Eager to impress his activist crush, a wealthy New York teenager follows an online connection to Texas, where
The Double
Make a night of it
Pair this with Beau Is Afraid (2023)
Both explore privileged young men's misguided quests driven by anxiety.
Total runtime: 1h 31m + 2h 59m = 4h 30m
