FILM: Half Nelson DVD review

When Half Nelson was first released last August, it recieved stellar reviews and Ryan Gosling was hailed, once again, as a remarkable actor. After watching the film this weekend, I got to judge for myself.

The film follows an unconventional friendship between a history teacher, Dan Dunne (Gosling), and one of his 8th grade students, Rey (Shareeka Epps). Just presenting that as the set up has the viewer nitpicking at every encounter with questions of pedophilia. Although there were some questionable instances, in the end, the story was truly about harmony.

Dunne's curriculum focuses on the conflicts between opposing forces within history that led to war and death. Meanwhile, in his own life, he befriends his opposite, who he may clash with on occassion, but ultimately finds an unbreakable connection with. There are the obvious differences between them: he's white, she's black; he's old, she's young; he does drugs and she's surrounded by them. The most crucial difference, however, is that when faced with responsiblity, Rey doesn't bend under pressure, but he gives into his vices. His dependency doesn't end with drugs. Throughout the film, he consistently tries to be her hero, but it's Rey who saves him every time.

Although this relationship was well-developed and the film had both its dramatic and funny moments, the ending may not appease viewers who are used to the formulaic structure of...an actual ending. After watching it, I realized that this wasn't so much an abbreviated story of a great friendship, but a glimpse into a promising one. Gosling's performance was impressive simply because of how he could seamlessly switch from a lucid, intelligent state to incoherent rambling. And Epps was pretty good too at acting like a perpetually static victim who was completely accepting of all of life's obstacles.

**1/2