B+
Directed by Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden
Ryan Fleck and Anne Boden's first film is something most first time directors could only dream of--critically acclaimed, award winning, and reasonably succesful at the box office. It's a surprising, thoughtful, and engrossing film that fully showcases the talents of its cast, most notably Ryan Gosling, as well as the bright futures of both Fleck and Boden.
Gosling, he of "The Notebook" fame, plays Dan Dunne, a young, idealistic history teacher at an inner city high school whose novel, engaging approach to teaching makes him a student favorite. Dunne has some skeletons in the closet, however, in the form of a nasty freebase habit. His illicit drug use is discovered by Drey, one of his young students, when she walks in on him smoking the old crack pipe in the ladies washroom after a basketball game. That, my friends, is not the way you want your drug habit to come out. Drey keeps quiet, however, and a bond forms between her and Dunne. At the same time, local drug dealer Frank, who we find out is partially responsible for the incarceration of Drey's older brother, attempts to cosy up to Drey and provide her with some guidance. Dunne, in an admittedly hypocritical move, attempts to steer Drey clear of the drug peddling Frank.
What sounds at first like a contrived indie is anything but. When I first glanced at the back of the "Half Nelson" DVD I scoffed at every aspect of the plot, from the crack smoking yet "brilliant" inner city history teacher to his efforts to keep a young student away from a dangerous drug dealer. The loudly advertised "Soundtrack by Broken Social Scene" only added to my skepticism. Boden and Fleck, however, have crafted something memorable and truly affecting with "Half Nelson" and their efforts at keeping the plot as unsentimental and believable as possible are apparent throughout the film. The relationship that is formed between Dunne and Drey is compelling and also seems natural, in a way, even though it was originally sparked by an admittedly dubious circumstance. Ryan Gosling received accolades en masse for his portrayal of Dunne and his work here certainly merits the praise. Gosling's portrays Dunne in a sympathetic way but nonetheless makes his slow and ongoing self destruction look authentic and unpleasant.
All is not perfect in "Half Nelson" however, and a few noticeable flaws are worth noting. The narrative strays at some points, most notably in its portrayal of Drey who is shown at times as being wily, strong willed and beyond the influence of both Dunne and Frank but at other times is shown as an impressionable, lawless youth desperately looking for a father figure. Drey's short lived stint as a drug runner for Frank is probably the most disappointing example of such puzzling behavior. I also find it doubtful that a guy who is freebasing during his free time can keep it together long enough to teach class five days a week and coach a basketball team in his spare time. Although Dunne does sort of lose it at the end, his admirable ability to function competently during the day and then freebase his way towards oblivion at night and on the weekend seems at best doubtful. Maybe I just don't know enough about narcotics and you can actually live a functional life while freebasing away large chunks of your salary but I get the sense that Dunne would have been in worse shape than he appears in "Half Nelson" is his drug use was as bad as Fleck and Boden want us to believe.
These few bad apples to not, however, ruin the whole batch and "Half Nelson" is an enjoyable and entertaining film that announces the emergence of two young and very talented new American voices in film. And Even the Broken Social Scene soundtrack works!
Ryan Fleck and Anne Boden's first film is something most first time directors could only dream of--critically acclaimed, award winning, and reasonably succesful at the box office. It's a surprising, thoughtful, and engrossing film that fully showcases the talents of its cast, most notably Ryan Gosling, as well as the bright futures of both Fleck and Boden.
Gosling, he of "The Notebook" fame, plays Dan Dunne, a young, idealistic history teacher at an inner city high school whose novel, engaging approach to teaching makes him a student favorite. Dunne has some skeletons in the closet, however, in the form of a nasty freebase habit. His illicit drug use is discovered by Drey, one of his young students, when she walks in on him smoking the old crack pipe in the ladies washroom after a basketball game. That, my friends, is not the way you want your drug habit to come out. Drey keeps quiet, however, and a bond forms between her and Dunne. At the same time, local drug dealer Frank, who we find out is partially responsible for the incarceration of Drey's older brother, attempts to cosy up to Drey and provide her with some guidance. Dunne, in an admittedly hypocritical move, attempts to steer Drey clear of the drug peddling Frank.
What sounds at first like a contrived indie is anything but. When I first glanced at the back of the "Half Nelson" DVD I scoffed at every aspect of the plot, from the crack smoking yet "brilliant" inner city history teacher to his efforts to keep a young student away from a dangerous drug dealer. The loudly advertised "Soundtrack by Broken Social Scene" only added to my skepticism. Boden and Fleck, however, have crafted something memorable and truly affecting with "Half Nelson" and their efforts at keeping the plot as unsentimental and believable as possible are apparent throughout the film. The relationship that is formed between Dunne and Drey is compelling and also seems natural, in a way, even though it was originally sparked by an admittedly dubious circumstance. Ryan Gosling received accolades en masse for his portrayal of Dunne and his work here certainly merits the praise. Gosling's portrays Dunne in a sympathetic way but nonetheless makes his slow and ongoing self destruction look authentic and unpleasant.
All is not perfect in "Half Nelson" however, and a few noticeable flaws are worth noting. The narrative strays at some points, most notably in its portrayal of Drey who is shown at times as being wily, strong willed and beyond the influence of both Dunne and Frank but at other times is shown as an impressionable, lawless youth desperately looking for a father figure. Drey's short lived stint as a drug runner for Frank is probably the most disappointing example of such puzzling behavior. I also find it doubtful that a guy who is freebasing during his free time can keep it together long enough to teach class five days a week and coach a basketball team in his spare time. Although Dunne does sort of lose it at the end, his admirable ability to function competently during the day and then freebase his way towards oblivion at night and on the weekend seems at best doubtful. Maybe I just don't know enough about narcotics and you can actually live a functional life while freebasing away large chunks of your salary but I get the sense that Dunne would have been in worse shape than he appears in "Half Nelson" is his drug use was as bad as Fleck and Boden want us to believe.
These few bad apples to not, however, ruin the whole batch and "Half Nelson" is an enjoyable and entertaining film that announces the emergence of two young and very talented new American voices in film. And Even the Broken Social Scene soundtrack works!
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