Our Hero, Balthazar

Synopsis

Balthazar Malone is an ultra-wealthy Manhattan high school senior who records performative videos pleading for stricter gun laws, craving online attention and trying to impress his activist classmate crush, Eleanor. When an anonymous online troll begins mocking his videos and posting violent threats, Balthy becomes convinced the user is planning a real-world mass shooting. Desperate to become a hero, he creates a deepfake online persona to catfish the troll, ultimately tracking the location down to a small town in Texas. Balthy leaves his privileged life behind to confront the individual, who turns out to be Solomon Jackson, a lonely, isolated teenager trapped under the toxic influence of his abusive, grifter father. As these two young men from completely different worlds collide, their volatile dynamic quickly spins out of control. This dark comedy and contemporary coming-of-age satire explores the real-world consequences of treating tragedy as online content, gun culture, and the modern internet landscape.