Half Nelson (Ryan Fleck, 2006)

[Antoine Doinel]

I'm a little suprised there has been no mention of this film yet, but I saw it last night and I was blown away.

On the surface, this it seems like just another young-inner-city-school-teacher-teaches-life-lessons, but that assessment couldn't be further off. Primarily, this is a film about addiction, but I've never seen the struggle of addiction acted and written so subtly. There is no dramatic "vomiting-in-the-bathroom" scene or showing up to a wedding or other major social event high. Instead, we have something that's probably a little closer to reality. An addict who has his good days, where he is able to get to school and teach and make his kids laugh and his bad days, where his struggle trumps any responsibilities and friendships. This is also a film that digs deeper, with comments on raising inner city kids and complexity of being both white and black in those communities.

But what struck me most about this film are the choices made by director Ryan Fleck. The story is completely unpredictable and strikingly honest. There are absolutely no histrionics but lots of small, intimate and brutal moments. There is a scene in particular in which the addict confronts the local dealer who is befriending one of this students. In any other film, the scene would have devolved into a violent, loud confrontation. But here, its almost heartbreaking in its earnestness.

This a great film, one of the best of the year, and of the best American films in a long time. Amazing.

[Lemmy Caution]

I've been hearing good buzz on this, but unfortunately won't get a chance to see it for another few months probably.

[lord_clyde]

Watched this as a sort of 'drug addict' double feature with Sherrybaby. This is the one I immediately purchased the dvd for, a great movie with fantastic performances. Doesn't beat you over the head with a 'drugs ruin lives' type of message, and ends on just the right note.

[pianocrash]

Halfway through, I was a little on the fence as to why I was even watching this film; by the end, so disappointed.
A better film tackling similar topics? Down to the Bone. Even 10x better? Jesus' Son.

Did we need all those constant reminders of "opposing forces" every five seconds? Or the backstory of a family of pseudo-revolutionaries?

Why, in these types of movies, do the actors tend to run away with the whole thing? Did someone forget they were part of a film?
I mean, c'mon, Sherrybaby? No!

But what about Panic in Needle Park?

[toiletduck!]

Why, in these types of movies, do the actors tend to run away with the whole thing? Did someone forget they were part of a film?

While I'm completely in the Antoine/clyde camp, this interests me. Did you find the acting to be of the scenery-chewing variety or just far far stronger than any of the other elements of the film?

If it's the first, well, I guess I 100% disagree and we'll have to call it good. But if it's the second, I think it's a bit unfair to expect the actors to force mediocre performances just to match what everyone else is doing. Film is a collaborative art, sure, but I can't really see anyone asking for a unified subpar collaboration over something in which only certain elements work effectively.

That said, I don't really see where you're coming from. As Antoine mentioned, the directorial choices repeatedly struck me. For me, a big one was the scene where Epps finds Gosling high in the girls' locker room. Rather than place this scene as a 'turning point' in their relationship as any cliched mentor story would have done, Fleck starts their relationship at this unlikely point. It's an initiative role reversal that places the characters on a level, helping to avoid many of the teacher/student pitfalls this sort of story tends to bring out.

Easily one of the best of the year.

-Toilet Dcuk

[souvenir]

Absolutely TD. It was like the screenwriters consciously made the decision to throw out all those cliched bullet points found in other druggie movies. There's no scene of massive meltdown where the main character tearfully vows to get his life back together. It's very refreshing, and the performances of Gosling and Epps are what really make the whole thing stand out.

[Fletch F. Fletch]

Primarily, this is a film about addiction, but I've never seen the struggle of addiction acted and written so subtly. There is no dramatic "vomiting-in-the-bathroom" scene or showing up to a wedding or other major social event high. Instead, we have something that's probably a little closer to reality. An addict who has his good days, where he is able to get to school and teach and make his kids laugh and his bad days, where his struggle trumps any responsibilities and friendships. This is also a film that digs deeper, with comments on raising inner city kids and complexity of being both white and black in those communities.

Agreed. I also enjoyed his "history lessons" in class, teaching his kids to be critical of US foreign policy and how when a kid did something wrong in class they had to do a report on an example of US foreign policy. That was a nice touch.

But what struck me most about this film are the choices made by director Ryan Fleck. The story is completely unpredictable and strikingly honest. There are absolutely no histrionics but lots of small, intimate and brutal moments. There is a scene in particular in which the addict confronts the local dealer who is befriending one of this students. In any other film, the scene would have devolved into a violent, loud confrontation. But here, its almost heartbreaking in its earnestness.

Yes, this scene stuck out in mind as well and was the one that stayed with me the longest. I was so hoping that Fleck wouldn't go for the violent confrontation bit and was happily surprised when he took a different route. It was also nice to see him avoid the stereotypical pitfalls of other white-teacher-in-the-ghetto movies, like Dangerous Minds and more recently, Freedom Writers, by presenting a deeply flawed protagonist and believable kids, not some thinly-sketched stereotypes.

[Belmondo]

I liked it too, for all the reasons already mentioned. I particulary appreciate the fact that there was no sexual undercurrent between teacher and student. I also saw "Sherrybaby" at about the same time and, much as I love Maggie, I found it merely depressing where this one was involving and "true" from start to finish. Since you get to see ALL of Maggie in "Sherrybaby", it must mean that "Half Nelson" has something more important to say on the subject.

[marty]

Sherrybaby was ok but it smacked of the typical Sundance film about people on the margins of society. Then again, I wouldn't expect any Sundance films about the struggles of wealthy Republicans. My friend gave me a DVD of Half Nelson and true to its word the DVD is stuck halfway through the film and can't play anymore. So I have only seen half of Half Nelson.

[John Cope]

My friend gave me a DVD of Half Nelson and true to its word the DVD is stuck halfway through the film and can't play anymore. So I have only seen half of Half Nelson.

Did you ever get the chance to finish it, marty?

I have to add my voice to the chorus of appreciation for this fine film. Going in I was reluctant as I expected to see what I'm sure we all expected to see and the fact that we don't get that at all is refreshing to say the least. In fact, it's a real pleasure to watch something that is so interested in replicating the rhythms and lulls of real life and yet also capable of seeing their inherent drama. Much of this felt like a less self-conscious Egoyan movie, like the kind of thing he would do if he could get beyond his own aesthetic and intellectual limitations (which is not meant to slam him; what he does he generally does very well).

The indirect communication in the script matches the indirect emotions of the main characters. It also registers as enormous confidence on Fleck's part. I agree with all the scenes cited above but I think the one that hit me the hardest was the scene in which Drey discovers Dan in the motel room. That's just an extraordinary moment and Gosling plays it perfectly; his expression of abashed resignation is startling because it's not what we would expect to see and yet it's right and adds tremendously to the pathos of the scene.

I understand pianocrash's complaints, though, as there were brief moments (especially during the alternating dinner scenes) when I did question the wisdom of intercutting these two seemingly obvious "opposites". But, of course, Dan and Drey are not that opposite at all and this is what's important here. It's their shared yet mutually exclusive great loneliness that compels them toward one another and allows for a special bond of understanding between them which demands no explanations and accommodates no demands. The indicators of Dan's family's "revolutionary" history were meant, in my mind, to show a separation--both between Dan and his family's idealism and between the family's sedate middle-classness and their own purported ambitions. Beyond this, we are shown consistently the kind of tenuous relationship Dan has to his own ideals (e.g. "I am not a communist", "I have books about all kinds of people", etc.) and this indicator of a deeper, more emblematic cultural dismay suggests much about his (and, by extension, our) alienated exhaustion, the kind that leads inevitably to a giving up, an anomie.

I also have to mention the delicate, beautiful score. It's as subtle as the rest but remains a stand out.

Oh, and to address one of pianocrash's other issues: I liked Jesus' Son well enough but I can't claim that it impacted me nearly as deeply as this. What about it did you like so much? And why do you see it as preferable to Half Nelson?

[souvenir]

For others who loved Half Nelson, the UK DVD is scheduled to come out on Sept. 24. Amazon indicates that extra features will include:

Filmmaker commentary from writer/director Ryan Fleck and writer/editor Anna Boden
Fleck and Boden's Sundance award-winning short film "Gowanus Brooklyn", also starring Shareeka Epps
Exclusive interview with Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden
Extended Q&A with Fleck and Boden at the Everyman Cinema in London
Cast Audition Footage
Outtakes
Deleted and Extended Scenes
Photo Gallery
Trailer

These special features are more extensive than the R1, which was mostly just the commentary and deleted scenes. Also, the cover art up now on Amazon sticks with the theatrical poster instead of the horrible R1 cover.