Half Nelson | Review

Addiction Drama drums to a different beat.

Elevated by solid acting performances, texturized by a visually appealing raw look and characterized by a tone that prefers realism, Half Nelson is an addiction drama that reaches far beyond what is expected from the subgenre. Ryan Fleck shows tremendous poise for a feature debut – he delivers a portrait that is a truly beautifully character study with the kind of backbone that is rarely attributed to a culturally and generational mixed drama. Just like the Sundance crowds beforehand, art house moviegoers will want to get their next fix with this poetic rendition of hitting bottom.

We often see them as motivators, people that inspire and as adult figures who naturally become our mentors. Based on the Sundance-winning template short film Gowanus, Brooklyn, Fleck demonstrates that teachers aren’t necessarily grayed-hair, eye focal-wearing adults but instead are young and trapped in more than just a bad habit. The sort of life lessons taught outside of school are often more perilous than the safety of the four walls of a classroom. The narrative sees a dually-shared role of the protagonist split between Ryan Gosling and new comer Shareeka Epps. Thanks to an impromptu after school meeting, the bond that is created by a shared secret complicates the notion of the teacher-student relationship. Gosling plays the sort of teacher that you call by his first name and even better, you end up shooting hoops with the man during after school hours, unfortunately on weekends he is a Casanova with a death wish – or perhaps a really bad habit that is out of control. With Epps we get the portrait of the tough acne-pimpled teen girl who is a product of her neighborhood – she has the demeanor of someone who has been affected by what goes on in her neighborhood – she is a product of it no matter what avenues she chooses.

Avoiding easy character descriptions and a branded formulaic after-school special approach, Fleck and co-screenwriter Anna Boden powerfully spun tale is backed by several sequences that add up perfectly to the film’s mature tone. Strong points come from the simple treatment of items such as how adults engage in the act of sex or in some inserted excerpts of moments in the history of civil rights: a commentary about why such a neighborhood has become victimized by social corruption and lack of support for people whether black of white. Fleck’s direction is sensed in how the actors are conditioned in this environment where sinners are striving to be good but where a complex triangle between two adult male figures (a dope head and the dope dealer) in the life of the teen girl. With the combination of a career-defining performance from Gosling and a series of handheld close-ups that offer a gritty look, overall this builds up as an unromantic dose of tangy realism.

Ambiance is chill-toned thanks to cinematographer Andrij Parekh exposition of parallel realities of a drug addict and the score from Broken Social Scene paints layers onto the notion of self-anileation during spurts of weakness. Get ready for the strong climax and the film’s aftermath – a solid piece of writing that is far from delivering the convenient end all demons resolution. Half Nelson will most likely be remembered for Gosling’s command for the screen in the sort of subtle performance that is not apparent in a 3 minute trailer and Epps equally follows suit in a role that was both familiar and obviously she was born to play (Epps played the same role in the short film). Of course the two performances might not bring them close to Oscar but this should be a shoe in for both the Indie Spirits and Gotham awards. This may just be the film of the year – not bad for a film that got its world premiere in the month of January.

Sundance 2006.

Rating 4.5 stars