Half Nelson
Remember last week when I discussed that people tend to forget that George Clooney is talented because of his dreamy eyes and chiselled bone structure? Similarly, heartthrob Ryan Gosling gets the same deal. It’s not a lie that Gosling has charmed the pants off a lot of people and that is through the power of the screen. But those people getting lost in his….bright….blue……………eyes….like…entrances to the…..
Sorry, erm…. those people getting lost in his handsome good looks tend to forget that he is much more than the man who wrote letters. In fact, if you have seen Drive or Only God Forgives you will know that Gosling has some massive talent. He is even Oscar Nominated.
So let’s put aside the fact that he is bloody gorgeous and look at movie that earned him that accolade; Half Nelson.
Half Nelson is directed by Ryan Fleck and stars Gosling as an inner city middle school History teacher, Dan Dunne. Rather than stick to the curriculum, he makes his own lessons to completely engage with his children. However, he connects with a particular student, Drey, due her discovery of his drug addiction. But Drey’s life is in turmoil after her brother is placed in prison and her mother is stuck working around the clock. When her neighbour Frank comes around, asking her to deliver drugs, will the influences in her life come together to stop her travelling down the route her brother took?
Ryan Gosling is a phenomenal actor. His work here as Dunne is so intricate and absorbing that you forget the star status immediately. As Dunne, Gosling creates this utterly believeable protagonist who has these stark and bitterly truthful faults. Stuck in an addiction and walking many lines with work and women, Dunne is an example of sobering characterisation. With the help of such an enticing script, Gosling is fantastic here. It is an intelligent performance with a simple story; a teacher with a heart of gold must battle his demons to become a great adult role model.
The young actress Shareeka Epps too plays a honest and daring role that has this brilliant and mature repertoire with Gosling and his character. It is refreshing to see a friendship with different age and authority levels be the great centre of the film without it divulging into Lifetime storylines. Half Nelson holds nothing back, laying down the winning hand down with two great aces.
But the killer deck is the fact that Half Nelson doesn’t hold back or patronise the audience. The film is entirely honest, giving this searing look into a man’s life and doesn’t ask that he resolves his issues. Instead, we have to follow his earnest attempt at helping a young girl who he feels responsible for. There is no rose tinted glasses here and Fleck conveys this with his cinematography, drowning it in this desolation and allowing the warmth to come through from the acting. Fleck cleverly separates the story with moments of history that affected people’s civil rights, that parallels the tensions of the community and the different perceived levels of people.
Ultimately, Half Nelson is authentic independent drama that has sincerity, never straying from the heart of it.
It is personality and character that brings people together.
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