Watch Hello Destroyer

Hello Destroyer is a Canadian drama film released in 2016, directed by Kevan Funk. Set in a small Canadian town, the movie tells the story of a talented young hockey player named Tyson Burr (played by Jared Abrahamson) who lives his life on the ice, dreaming of making it to the big league. However, when an illegal hit on an opposing player during a game leads to a serious injury, Tyson's world is turned upside down as he is suddenly ostracized by his teammates, coaches, and the entire town.

The movie explores the themes of violence, masculinity, and the cult of sports, as it follows Tyson's journey to discover who he is beyond the sport he loves so much. The story is told in a slow and meditative style, allowing the audience to really feel the weight of the events unfolding on screen.

Despite being a movie about hockey, Hello Destroyer doesn't glorify the sport. Instead, it shows the dark side of the game, the toxic culture that can develop around it, and the human cost of this violent sport. The movie is brutally honest in its portrayal of the physical and emotional damage that can be inflicted on players, and how this damage can spill over into their personal lives.

One of the most striking things about the film is how the violence on the ice is juxtaposed with the quiet, almost melancholic scenes that follow it. The movie doesn't shy away from showing the brutality of hockey, but it also spends a lot of time exploring the aftermath of that violence. Tyson is shown suffering from PTSD, struggling to come to terms with what he's done, and feeling like he's been abandoned by everyone he once trusted. This makes the movie all the more powerful, as it forces the audience to confront the harm that can be caused by something as seemingly harmless as a game.

The performances in Hello Destroyer are fantastic, particularly Jared Abrahamson's portrayal of Tyson. He manages to convey so much emotion without ever going over the top. His character is deeply sympathetic - we feel for him when he's being bullied by his teammates, when he's struggling to make connections with people outside of hockey, and when he's forced to confront the reality of what he's done. Sara Canning is also great as a young journalist who takes an interest in Tyson's story. She acts as a voice of reason in a world that has gone mad.

The movie is beautifully shot, with some stunning visuals that really capture the bleakness of the world these characters inhabit. The small town where the story takes place is shown as a place that's been left behind by the rest of the world, where people are struggling to find their place in a changing world. The hockey rink, which is meant to be a place of excitement and passion, is depicted as a cold and lonely space where people do terrible things to each other.

Some viewers might find the movie slow-paced, but it's a deliberate choice that helps build the tension and create a sense of atmosphere. The movie is less about what happens to Tyson and more about how he's affected by what happens to him, which means that there are a lot of quiet scenes where we're just watching him move through the world. But these scenes are important in establishing his character, and in making us care about what happens to him.

Overall, Hello Destroyer is a powerful and emotionally affecting movie that explores some difficult themes. It's a movie that will stay with you long after you've watched it, and it's well worth seeing for anyone who's interested in sports movies that are willing to tackle darker subject matter.

Hello Destroyer is a 2017 drama with a runtime of 1 hour and 51 minutes. It has received moderate reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 6.2.