HALF NELSON (2006)
Direction: Ryan Fleck
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Shareeka Epps, Jeff Lima, Nathan Corbett, Tina Holmes
Screenplay: Ryan Fleck, Anna Boden
Ryan Gosling, Shareeka Epps, Half Nelson
Although Ryan Fleck's raw, edgy drama Half Nelson could use a little trimming, it is nevertheless a compelling drama rooted on Ryan Gosling's mesmerizing performance as Dan Dunne, a crack-addicted, inner-city high-school history teacher who resorts to drugs in spite of (or perhaps because of) his desire to change the world for the better.
Co-written by Fleck and Anna Boden, Half Nelson chiefly chronicles the relationship between Dan and one of his students, Drey (capably played by Shareeka Epps), a teenager whose brother is in jail for dealing drugs and whose future looks equally dim.
In most Hollywood movies, those two disparate characters would find redemption through one another, but to their credit, Fleck and Boden don't resort to such maudlin tactics. Half Nelson remains truthful, unsentimental, and non-judgmental to the very end.
The film's title refers to a wrestling hold that immobilizes one's opponent. The trick is to pass one arm under the opponent's arm from behind to the back of the neck.
Note: A version of this Half Nelson review was initially posted in June 2006.
1 Academy Award Nomination
Best Actor: Ryan Gosling
i love it!! its really nice.
"One thing doesn't make a man"
What's good, what's bad?
What's right, what's wrong?
Who's right, who's not?
Who lives, who dies?
Who stays, who goes?
Who's free, who's not?
Who rules, who obeys?
Who lose, who plays?
Who's free, who's locked?
Who speaks, who shuts?
What's real, what's not?
What's far, what's close?
How far we go from "know" to judge?
Who is to say if it's "OK"?
How bad could be to just be better
Than all we've ever seen or touched?
How bad should be to be the one
Who thought he'd never get out of the hole?
How bad would be someone who's been taught
To live and die with a broken heart and soul"¦
Antonio C. Lyon