"Ryan Gosling stars as Dan Dunne, a young teacher whose edgy yet brilliant approach to history inspires his inner-city students to think for themselves. But, outside the classroom, Dan's life is spiraling out of control. Wrestling with inner demons and nursing a serious drug habit, Dan finally hits rock bottom - witnessed by one of his troubled students, Drey (Shareeka Epps). With an unlikely friendship built on a shared secret, Dan tries to steer her away from a small-time drug dealer (Anthony Mackie). But no matter which way they turn to survive, their lives will change forever," according to the film's official synopsis.
"Half Nelson" suffers from too much of the wobbly "hand held" camera technique which, frankly, isn't necessary to make the film look more realistic. Yet, the story, by director Ryan Fleck and partner Anna Boden, and characterizations are good enough to overcome this distraction. The marvelously written screenplay is full of nuances, which serve the main point - showing the interconnecting ways drug addiction can infect the human spirit, when people like those played by Mr. Gosling and Ms. Epps are needed to play much more positive roles in a troubled world.
Gosling's "Academy Award" nomination for "Best Actor" is clearly understandable; and, Epps could have easily won some "Best Supporting Actress" consideration. At least, the "Independent Spirit Awards" recognized the memorable pair's delicately played teacher/student roles. Everyone else in the cast is excellent, as well. And, the non-melodramatic ending leaves "Half Nelson" full of hope.
******* Half Nelson (3/22/06) Ryan Fleck ~ Ryan Gosling, Shareeka Epps, Anthony Mackie, Monique Gabriela Curnen
Half Nelson
2006
Action / Drama
Half Nelson
2006
Action / Drama
Plot summary
Young Caucasian Dan Dunne teaches history and coaches the girls basketball team at a Brooklyn high school populated primarily by black and Hispanic students. To the chagrin of his superiors, Dan bucks the outlined curriculum of historical facts in favor of the philosophy of historical events, generally discussing the concept of dialectics. As such, he captures the imagination of his students, at least in the classroom. Outside of the classroom, Dan's life is in shambles. He has a distant but cordial relationship with his family. He uses illicit drugs rampantly. Although his former girlfriend Rachel was able to clean up her drug habit, Dan believes that rehab will not work for him. Due to a combination of these issues, he treats women poorly. Thirteen-year-old Drey is a student in his class and a player on his basketball team. Drey has her own problems. Her parents are divorced, with her father a virtually non-existent figure in her life and her EMT mother generally absent as she is always working to provide for Drey. Her older brother Mike is incarcerated for selling drugs for a local dealer named Frank. Mike took the fall for Frank, who in turn protects Drey whether she wants to be associated with him or not. Dan and Drey's relationship changes when Drey catches Dan, believing he is alone, smoking crack in the girl's locker room bathroom. He is totally stoned. Their resulting friendship, which is seen as inappropriate by the few who know, is based on each being unable to deal with their own life, but feeling like they can be at least a minor salvation in the other's life.
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The Life You Save May Be Your Own
Do As I Say, Not As I Do
I got to see Half Nelson at one of the art house theaters in my native city of Buffalo and quite frankly I did not know what to make of it. Though I thought the acting was exceptional, especially Ryan Gosling, the story itself and the characters was something I couldn't get into.
Very simply, Ryan Gosling is an inner city junior high school teacher who looks very much like the kind that I would have liked to have had more of back in the day. He's a bright, witty guy who really does relate to his students even though he's white and they're mostly black.
One of them discovers he's got a drug habit, Gosling scores from one of the local dealers in her neighborhood. As you can imagine things just aren't the same after that.
Though his performance is exceptional and maybe even deserving of the Oscar nomination for Best Actor he got, I just could not get up any sympathy over him. He's upset over the state of things in the good old USA, well too bad, a lot of us are, very few of us turn to drugs as are chosen method of protest.
In the end I could not figure out what the point of Half Nelson was. Fans of Ryan Gosling will probably like it though.
Another step up for Gosling
Dan Dunne (Ryan Gosling) teaches history at Brooklyn high school attended mostly by black and Hispanic students. He engages his students inside the classroom. Outside of his classroom, he's a drug addict. His ex Rachel (Tina Holmes) was able to get clean, but not him. Then one day in school, one of his students Drey (Shareeka Epps) catches him in the bathroom. They form a complex relationship.
This is another step in Ryan Gosling's acting career. He's perfectly natural as this a complicated character. After 'The Notebook', he could easily devolve into a nothing acting unable to take chances. He's definitely taken a chance here. He doesn't overplay the character. It's a subtle performance, and he's well supported by Shareeka as well as others.