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Wow! Such a good movie.

Expected more

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Stark and riveting, "Half Nelson" proves we don't need reality entertainment: this non-glossy, non-'Hollywood' drama seems real enough. Junior high school history teacher and girls' basketball coach Ryan Gosling crawls into a crack-clouded fog once he gets home; one of his inner-city students knows his secret, yet she is harboring troubles of her own. Gosling is inherently charismatic and intrinsically smart while working from a gut instinct, resulting in a performance that is constantly surprising, always unpredictable; as an actor, he is so focused (and brave) that we don't recoil from him even as his character is turned inside-out, showing us behavior that is hardly pretty. Supporting cast is equally strong, aided by an outstanding screenplay from Anna Boden and director Ryan Fleck, who shies away from both sentimentality and melodramatic sensationalism. "Half Nelson" is so good, critics run the risk of overpraising it. It is mainly a quiet movie, a character study in a lower key, and yet what we absorb from it can last for days. *** from ****

If students not only wondered, but found out what their teachers were up to when they finished teaching them for the day, I bet you that students would show more respect for teachers. No film has ever opened my eyes to how dense teacher's souls can be, causing me to regret viewing my teachers as simple human beings, and not striving to make personal relationships inside the classroom. Ryan Gosling gives a quietly moving performance playing a young middle-school teacher with a drug problem. His character, Dan Dunne, forms a friendship with one of his students named Drey (Shareeka Epps). The story transcends from a sweet story to a character study on a man who tries to pass through his troubled life to find meaning along the way. Gosling gives a tour de force performance in "Half Nelson." His poignant way of being realistic enough to believe someone like Ryan Gosling could be a teacher transforms our view of a so called "pretty boy" and reminds us we're viewing the flight of a soaring actor full of talent. Writer/Director Ryan Fleck makes it clear he's striving for a redemption story. His characters and shockingly realistic writing have the force to capture the peeks of our hearts, break it in half, and then build it back up. In a subtle fashion, Fleck shows a story of coming out from a shell. There's plenty of moral questions and destiny ideas thrown at us to have us consider the paths of our own lives while we experience an independent film like no other capture our minds and spirits. Thrown students giving presentations to the class, Dan feeling trapped in his life, and a thoroughly effective examination of impoverished city life, "Half Nelson" is both devastating and one of the most unforgettable independent films of our time.

Half Nelson, a very low-budget movie, happens to be one of the most intense, revealing character dramas of recent years. At first, I didn't like the choppy camera work but then I came to realize it added a more gritty, realistic feeling to the film. It's definitely slow and kind of depressing, but the teacher-student relation will keep you entranced and wondering what is going to happen to these two.Ryan Fleck's film is about a history teacher and basketball coach who has a serious drug habit and he keeps going everyday because of his love of the subject and more importantly, his students. But one day, one of his students, a troubled girl, witnesses his secret and that secret will bring them together along a shared path.Ryan Gosling has been in so many great movies but this one of his best early roles as leading man. He gives one hell of a performance and it shows how this dude can act. Does he play a bad man? I would think not. Is he a good guy with serious flaws? I would say yes. Because of Gosling's intense portrayal, we care about what happens to this guy. Shareeka Epps does very well as the troubled girl and she holds her own against Gosling.Overall, Half Nelson is a beautiful drama about how two similarly depressed people are able to connect even though they don't find much in life. It's a bit depressing but at the same time, it can be a tad uplifting as well. For a very low budget, this film speaks on higher levels and proves you don't need extremely high budgets to make good movies. I rate this film 9/10.

Yes, it's been eight years and i still can't believe it. It was like yesterday when i stayed up late,looking for a movie to watch to distract me from my loneliness. Ryan Gosling got my attention with "The notebook", he made this really corny romantic story into something more, he created the character of Noah-the character of the lonely, left behind guy, who tries to find meaning in life, but instead grows a beard and keeps his promise of building a house. I'm sure there are so much more characters like this but this one really got me. And now this beautiful film-"Half Nelson"-the story of a teacher but not your "Dead poets society" teacher, who jumps and excites you, no. The lost teacher who has nothing and no one, and only the children keep him focused. You should be very careful before starting watching this film, because it doesn't have much happening in it. Its just a moment, couple of days from the life of this guy. My favourite scene is when he is dancing with this woman he met in the bar, while "lover's spit"is playing. I think this is one of the most powerful scenes of the century.