Half Nelson
Half Nelson is about the story of eighth grade history teacher Dan Dunne(Ryan Gosling). He teaches in the inner-city of Brooklyn using dialectics and opposing forces to get interest from the students. Dan is not only battling with the attempt to make the students better but his addiction to hard drugs. It stars Ryan Gosling and Shareeka Epps and is written by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, who also directs. The film received one Oscar nomination for Best Actor for Ryan Gosling.
Let me just say that Ryan Gosling has been in prime form since the release of The Notebook. He’s been the shining moment in Fracture and created a unique character in Lars And The Real Girl. Honestly if the guy keeps picking the right movies he is going to be known for a very long period of time. Hopefully he will get an Oscar.
Moving on, this film is a tale of battling your inner and outer demons. It deals with the hardships of living in Brooklyn and the problems it brings. Dan Dunne(Ryan Gosling) falls victim to this as his attempts to help change the youth of his class with his very creative teaching agenda don’t change them the way he wanted to. Dan sees this most in Drey(Shareeka Epps) who dips into the life that her mother is trying to keep her from.
What’s really moving about this film is that Dan is struggling not only with the pains of his plan not working as he wants but also his addiction to crack cocaine. It’s always a strong centerpiece to build a movie around and the way it is portrayed here is near perfect. We see a strong man succumb to something so small and insignificant and almost lose himself in it many times. Once again I cannot state how much I love movies dealing with the pains of addiction. It proves that what may be “cool” isn’t really the cool thing to do.
Ryan Gosling as I stated earlier puts on a great performance and basically carries this movie on his back. But I do have to give it up to Shareeka Epps and Anthony Mackie who plays Frank. The character of Frank is essentially the physical antagonist in this movie and Anthony Mackie is a great man for the role. The rest of the supporting cast is just kind of there but they flesh it out enough to make it real.
To sum this film up I would have to say that it is superbly written, greatly acted by the three mains, and overall a great story of triumph and bonding. While the bonding of the teacher and the student may seem weird to some it doesn’t to me. When someone is involved in drugs it could be the youngest or the oldest person they connect with to help them kick the habit. Watch this for Ryan Gosling and a great story.
Final Verdict: 4.4/5
