Half Nelson

Posted by Brian C. Gibson (brian@filmschoolrejects.com) on January 4, 2007

After showing range in his breakthrough performance in The Believer and  finding stardom 2004’s The Notebook, I was afraid that Ryan Gosling’s talent would be wasted in a series of roles placating to hordes of teenage girls. After seeing Gosling in Half Nelson,  I can say that his performance was nothing short of perfect.

On the surface Dan Dunne (Ryan Gosling) may seem like any ordinary inner city school teacher, tired and malcontent. Beneath the surface, Dunne lives in a self imposed prison of solitude and secrecy. Living in these two worlds, Dunne tries to live up to the expectations of being a role model while also hiding his secret drug addiction. When one of his students discovers his problem, they form an unexpected relationship. Finding hope in one another, Dunne and Drey (Shareeka Epps) must make a decision on what to do with their lives.

Ryan Gosling may be better known for his role as Noah Calhoun in 2004’s surprise film The Notebook, but i remember him for his performance in The Believer. Gosling’s talent has not gone to waste though. With this performance in Half Nelson, Gosling has shown both the presence and the range that he is capable of. While Gosling will not be nominated for an Oscar, he is one of my top bids for best actor. Refreshingly void of any cliche drug rehab/quitting cold turkey scenes, Gosling’s performance as both a crack addict and a struggling teacher showed as much range as any of his other fellow thespians in 2006.

The film is the first for director Ryan Fleck, who takes a difficult subject matter and twists it into a endearing film. While at first I thought a drug addict teacher trying to make a difference as a role model was both absurd and pretentious, Gosling and Fleck found a way to express a sympathetic tone throughout the film. The film moves at a slow pace and could have used a bit more background into the relationships that Dunne’s character has had. Two romantic storylines were inserted in the film but left without conclusion. The film had flaws and concluded without much of a central theme, but the performances from both leads left more than enough to talk about.

Read more articles by Brian C. Gibson