True to life
Added 2/8/2010
I read some reviewers criticize this movie for being unrealistic. Well, I don't know what to say except they never have been teaching in the inner city. The alcoholic professor is as much a stereotype as the substance abusing teacher. They bring baggage to the job of "teaching." Here, Gosling is absolutely remarkable in his performance as a powder then crack cocaine user who is also a brilliant teacher. His connection to his kids unrealistic? Let me tell you it is his style of teaching that gets through to them. Throughout the film you will see his kids reciting parts of black history that he has taught them, despite thefact that his principal is upset that he is not on a certain page in the lesson plan. Lord, you who are teachers like I am know how brilliantly true this is! Dunn is a creative, committed teacher who finds remarkable ways to reach his students. One wonderful scene has him trying to explain to a couple of coke ho's why he teaches: one girl says, o so if you get through to one, you get through to all, huh? Gosling's expression is priceless (btw, he is one heck of an actor). No, he murmurs, if you get through to one .... (you have reached one). In his dialogue, however, he never finishes the line.
The backdrop of his family life explains a lot, as does Dre's. And I think this is what ultimately draws them to each other; not that they know about each other's past/present, but they sense they have a kinship. The lovely reciprocal-caretaker theme also suggests they are kindred spirits.
There is no lack of resolution at the end. The scene IS the resolution. Dre has just persuaded Dunn to clean up his room and his personal hygiene. "You missed a spot," she tells him. Then sitting down on opposite ends of the sofa, they smile shyly at one another, acknowledging their bond. This is a terrific movie, another indie classic.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
The teacher here is unteachable
Added 2/4/2010
I, like another viewer, found this movie "reprehensible".
If the "teacher" had any morals, any courage, he would have voluntarily left the classroom at the beginning of the film. That would have been proper, and it would have kindly ended this movie.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
Gritty & Riveting
Added 1/20/2010
One thing that sticks out from the very beginning of Half Nelson is it's riveting style. The camera work and direction is what you've come to expect from films associated with The Sundance Film Festival- and this film was featured there. It's unpredictable and there is an air of intellect around it.
In Half Nelson, it's all there, plus an excellent performance by Ryan Gosling as Dan Dunne, a bright, popular, elementary school history teacher with a penchant for rebelling against the establishment, who's got a secret- he's a crack addict.
In the beginning, it's surprising how functional he is ... and how adept he is at hiding his addiction. The rest of the film is his downward spiral and how one little girl becomes his conscience ... and savior.
Thru most of the beginning, he shuffles along, pale, disheveled, black circles under his eyes, with a forced energy that enables him make it to school every day- and even to coach the jr high girls basketball team.
It is at one of these games we meet one of his students, Drey (very well played by newbie Shareeka - no relation to Omar- Epps), the girl who has a surprisingly strong affinity with Dan. (Surprising because he's young and white, and she's younger and black- in an inner city setting.)
I loved their chemistry which is established at a slow pace, almost painstakingly slow. Yet you feel their connection immediately- especially after a particularly sobering scene where Drey happens upon Dan in the girls locker room after a game. In the scene, Dan desperately tries to hold it together, crack pipe in hand, but finds himself sprawled out on the floor at her feet. Their almost wordless interaction is full of tension because you just don't know how she will react. When she kneels down and wipes his brow, it becomes apparent she's not a stranger to others living with addiction.
Initially, he pulls it together and drives her home, but it doesn't take long for him to descend into a hellish pit of addiction that he cannot escape from and can no longer cover up. Yet he remains ever drawn back to Drey-innocence personified. Their relationship, though odd at best because of their age difference- thank God never strays into impropriety and in the end she becomes his saving grace.
But before we get to the end we fret. We worry because, Drey, in her home life, is being drawn into the snare of the drug world. The drugs are all around her and a particularly wiley drug dealer/family friend is trying to lure her in.
The climax is particularly poignant because there is a sense of inevitability to it. No- not the death you sense is just around the corner- but Drey, in her first tentative steps into that dark world, happens to knock on the door of Dan's rented run-down hotel room to make a delivery.
It's a horribly gripping scene- and the tipping point for Dan, and Drey for that matter, because ... he accepts the drugs she has to sell.
There are all kinds of other nuances to this film that I thought brought into light the reality of addiction. From the stress of an addict trying to cope with emotional ties to family and lovers, to the secret nature the functional addict attempts to keep hidden everyday.
The ultimate ending I thought could have been done better- I don't like hinted at happily ever afters- but I suppose that would have not been fitting for this piece.
Still I think it would have made me walk away from the film with a 5 star rating. As it is, I'm giving it 4 out of 5. Half Nelson, probably isn't for everyone, but one can't deny its gritty artistic appeal.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
Okay, but overrated
Added 9/24/2009
"Half Nelson" is a 2006 independent film starring Ryan Gosling as Mr. Dunne, a white school teacher in an inner-city Brooklyn middle school. Mr. Dunne has noble ambitions of being a positive force in the lives of his students but he's bogged down by a crack habit. He strikes up a much-needed friendship with one of his students, a latchkey 13 year-old black girl named Drey, who accidently discovers his drug problem.
Richard Roeper and Kevin Smith's review on At The Movies called "Half Nelson" a masterpiece that everyone should seek out, view and relish; unfortunately it's not even close to being that good.
Yes, the acting is great across the board, especially Gosling, but acting itself does not a movie make. What's wrong with this film? For one thing, the story plays out in a dreary monotone its entire length (106 minutes) and ends on an unresolved note. Yet, even this doesn't explain why the film fails to be truly good or great; after all, 2004's "The Woodsman" also plays out in a flat, realistic manner and ends somewhat unresolved, but that film is great. So where does "Half Nelson" go wrong?
Although Ryan Gosling is an excellent actor, his character in this film, Mr. Dunne, is lifeless, unlikable, hypocritical and unrepentant; by contrast, Keven Bacon in "The Woodsman" may be lifeless and unlikable, but at least he wasn't hypocritical or unrepentant.
By "lifeless and unlikable" I mean that he lacks vibrancy and inspiration, even when he's in his glory teaching his kids about dialectics & history. There's simply no charisma that would compel anyone to want to seek him out, learn from him or befriend him, like, say, Robin Williams' character in "Dead Poets Society."
By "hypocritical" I mean the obvious: How much of a positive impact could he possibly have on inner-city youths if he himself is addticted to drugs? This brings to mind the absurd scene where Mr. Dunne confronts a drug dealer who's using Drey as a drug deliverer. Dunne doesn't want Drey to be negatively influenced by a drug dealer but it's okay for her to hang out with a pathetic drug addict like himself (?). The scene ends with Dunne having a drink and "candy" with the drug dealer -- lot of good that confrontation did.
By "unrepentant" I mean there's no indication in the story that Dunne desires to or will ultimately choose to detox from his drug habit. He makes the statement that "rehab doesn't work." Okay, that's fine, but do SOMETHING to try to escape your drug problem!
There are other problems with the film:
- The camera bobbles around too much as if to draw attention to itself ("See, this is a realistic slice-of-life picture!") It smacks of pretension.
- The kids in the classroom seem too well-behaved. This is a problem in Anywhere, America, let alone the inner-city.
- Despite Mr. Dunne's monotone dreariness, the viewer does desire to see him escape his addiction and fulfill his noble ambitions. We also come to care about Drey -- will she acquire the wisdom to stay away from drugs (dealing or addiction) and prison or will she too become part of the problem? Unfortunately the film leaves everything up in the air. We don't even know if Dunne still has his job at the end.
I get the points the film is trying to make -- this is an anti-inspirational teacher/mentor movie. There's no by-the-numbers breakthrough for student or teacher. "Half Nelson" isn't concerned with such things; it's concerned with the the simple achievement of going to work every day and accomplishing something beyond oneself, despite a flawed nature and crippling habit. It's a fine point but it could have been done in a much more compelling way.
Don't get me wrong, I don't hate "Half Nelson." I did appreciate quite a few aspects of it, especially Dunne's unlikely friendship with a 13 year-old girl, but the story never rises above its flat dreariness to become anything more than okay.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Three and a half, really. A Film You Must Have A Little Patience For
Added 9/3/2009
After viewing Lars and the Real Girl, I was so blown away by Ryan Gosling as an actor, I had to pick up another film of his. Half Nelson delivers another stunning performance by Gosling, but the film as a whole doesn't quite live up to Gosling's abilities. No real plot drives the movie, which does provide an interesting character study, but the film does not give the audience enough connection with the characters to keep their attention. It reaches in too many directions, from Dan's addiction to his relationship with various women, to Drey's family life, to her relationship with Frank, to the classroom scenes, that it felt like there was no time to really connect to any of these directions. Too many snapshots tend to blur the overall picture.
The first half of the movie I was so bored with the way it dragged and blurry, unfocused shots with maudlin music to accompany, I contemplated shutting it off. The performances of Shareeka Epps and Gosling were so extraordinary though, they kept me from giving up on this film. I am glad I persevered, because the film picked up steam and asked some interesting questions near the end. The drug-dealer Frank stood out to me as we approached the end as the most complex character, because he seemed to be the only one fleshed out enough to see the complexities of his personality and situation.
The plot of a brilliant, white teacher who teaches at a predominately black inner-city high school immediately conjures up stereotypes from films such as Dangerous Minds or The Principal, and I worried when Half Nelson might plunge into such stereotypes as well. I was pleasantly surprised to discover a richer movie than that, and by the end of the film, I had to applaud the film for not trying to wrap the film up with some overall moral or teaching. I still cannot decide if it completely outweighs the very, very, very slow build-up, but a movie that improves is better than a movie that does not.
Overall, I would recommend this film for anyone with the patience to wait it out. If you're looking for a moderate or fast paced, plot-driven film though, this may not be the movie for you.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
True to life
Added 2/8/2010
I read some reviewers criticize this movie for being unrealistic. Well, I don't know what to say except they never have been teaching in the inner city. The alcoholic professor is as much a stereotype as the substance abusing teacher. They bring baggage to the job of "teaching." Here, Gosling is absolutely remarkable in his performance as a powder then crack cocaine user who is also a brilliant teacher. His connection to his kids unrealistic? Let me tell you it is his style of teaching that gets through to them. Throughout the film you will see his kids reciting parts of black history that he has taught them, despite thefact that his principal is upset that he is not on a certain page in the lesson plan. Lord, you who are teachers like I am know how brilliantly true this is! Dunn is a creative, committed teacher who finds remarkable ways to reach his students. One wonderful scene has him trying to explain to a couple of coke ho's why he teaches: one girl says, o so if you get through to one, you get through to all, huh? Gosling's expression is priceless (btw, he is one heck of an actor). No, he murmurs, if you get through to one .... (you have reached one). In his dialogue, however, he never finishes the line.
The backdrop of his family life explains a lot, as does Dre's. And I think this is what ultimately draws them to each other; not that they know about each other's past/present, but they sense they have a kinship. The lovely reciprocal-caretaker theme also suggests they are kindred spirits.
There is no lack of resolution at the end. The scene IS the resolution. Dre has just persuaded Dunn to clean up his room and his personal hygiene. "You missed a spot," she tells him. Then sitting down on opposite ends of the sofa, they smile shyly at one another, acknowledging their bond. This is a terrific movie, another indie classic.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
The teacher here is unteachable
Added 2/4/2010
I, like another viewer, found this movie "reprehensible".
If the "teacher" had any morals, any courage, he would have voluntarily left the classroom at the beginning of the film. That would have been proper, and it would have kindly ended this movie.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
Gritty & Riveting
Added 1/20/2010
One thing that sticks out from the very beginning of Half Nelson is it's riveting style. The camera work and direction is what you've come to expect from films associated with The Sundance Film Festival- and this film was featured there. It's unpredictable and there is an air of intellect around it.
In Half Nelson, it's all there, plus an excellent performance by Ryan Gosling as Dan Dunne, a bright, popular, elementary school history teacher with a penchant for rebelling against the establishment, who's got a secret- he's a crack addict.
In the beginning, it's surprising how functional he is ... and how adept he is at hiding his addiction. The rest of the film is his downward spiral and how one little girl becomes his conscience ... and savior.
Thru most of the beginning, he shuffles along, pale, disheveled, black circles under his eyes, with a forced energy that enables him make it to school every day- and even to coach the jr high girls basketball team.
It is at one of these games we meet one of his students, Drey (very well played by newbie Shareeka - no relation to Omar- Epps), the girl who has a surprisingly strong affinity with Dan. (Surprising because he's young and white, and she's younger and black- in an inner city setting.)
I loved their chemistry which is established at a slow pace, almost painstakingly slow. Yet you feel their connection immediately- especially after a particularly sobering scene where Drey happens upon Dan in the girls locker room after a game. In the scene, Dan desperately tries to hold it together, crack pipe in hand, but finds himself sprawled out on the floor at her feet. Their almost wordless interaction is full of tension because you just don't know how she will react. When she kneels down and wipes his brow, it becomes apparent she's not a stranger to others living with addiction.
Initially, he pulls it together and drives her home, but it doesn't take long for him to descend into a hellish pit of addiction that he cannot escape from and can no longer cover up. Yet he remains ever drawn back to Drey-innocence personified. Their relationship, though odd at best because of their age difference- thank God never strays into impropriety and in the end she becomes his saving grace.
But before we get to the end we fret. We worry because, Drey, in her home life, is being drawn into the snare of the drug world. The drugs are all around her and a particularly wiley drug dealer/family friend is trying to lure her in.
The climax is particularly poignant because there is a sense of inevitability to it. No- not the death you sense is just around the corner- but Drey, in her first tentative steps into that dark world, happens to knock on the door of Dan's rented run-down hotel room to make a delivery.
It's a horribly gripping scene- and the tipping point for Dan, and Drey for that matter, because ... he accepts the drugs she has to sell.
There are all kinds of other nuances to this film that I thought brought into light the reality of addiction. From the stress of an addict trying to cope with emotional ties to family and lovers, to the secret nature the functional addict attempts to keep hidden everyday.
The ultimate ending I thought could have been done better- I don't like hinted at happily ever afters- but I suppose that would have not been fitting for this piece.
Still I think it would have made me walk away from the film with a 5 star rating. As it is, I'm giving it 4 out of 5. Half Nelson, probably isn't for everyone, but one can't deny its gritty artistic appeal.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
