Half Nelson (2006)

Director:

Ryan Fleck

Writers (WGA):

Ryan Fleck (written by) &
Anna Boden (written by)

Release Date:

11 August 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Secrets don't let go.

Plot:

An inner-city junior high school teacher with a drug habit forms an unlikely friendship with one of his students after she discovers his secret.

Plot Keywords:

Drugs | Classroom | Single Mother | Crack | History Teacher

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 22 wins & 21 nominations

Cast

Ryan Gosling	...	Dan Dunne
Jeff Lima	...	Roodly
Shareeka Epps	...	Drey
Nathan Corbett	...	Terrance
Tyra Kwao-Vovo	...	Stacy
Rosemary Ledee	...	Gina
Tristan Wilds	...	Jamal
Bryce Silver	...	Bernard
Kaela C. Pabon	...	Lena
Erica Rivera	...	Erika (as Erika Rivera)
Stephanie Bast	...	Vanessa
Eleanor Hutchins	...	Simone
Sebastian Sozzi	...	Javier
Tina Holmes	...	Rachel
Karen Chilton	...	Karen

MPAA:

Rated R for drug content throughout, language and some sexuality.

Runtime:

USA:106 min (Sundance Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Singapore:M18 | Portugal:M/16 | UK:15 | Australia:MA | Sweden:7 | Ireland:15A | Finland:K-13 | New Zealand:R16 | Germany:12 | Norway:10 (TV rating) | Norway:11

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Hunting Lane Films

Trivia:

Although it was produced and shot in New York City, the Toronto band Broken Social Scene is featured prominently on the soundtrack. Broken Social Scene even recorded some original music for the film.

Quotes:

Dan: One thing doesn't make a man.
Drey: [softly laughing]
Dan: What?
Drey: One thing doesn't make a man?

Movie Connections:

Featured in 13th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Last Place

Saving Oneself

Ryan Gosling gives an off-the-charts, startling, emotionally charged performance as Dan Dunne, a young and unhappy man who is disenchanted with the world and himself.

The camera follows every emotion that surfaces in Dan's mind and face and soul; we watch him spend every waking moment pondering life and its intricate hypocrisies, intolerance, and continuous disappointments, we watch him spend every waking moment pondering his own personal failings and let-downs, we watch him spend every waking moment trying to escape his anguish through drug abuse, and we watch him spend every waking moment mentally and physically punishing himself for his failings by engaging in drug abuse.

In addition to the abuse of drugs, his emotional decline is accelerated by his career as a history teacher (and coach) in an inner-city run-down school where a few, if any, students graduate highschool, let alone advance to college. We readily discern that he has given up all attempts at trying to reach out and inspire his students to fight against the injustices and misinformation that exist in the world.

His mental anguish and desolation and severe alienation, melded with rampant drug use, has nearly destroyed him.

His only hope of survival is being inspired by one of his own students, Drey - whom he has made an incongruous connection with - to save himself.

As Drey (Shareeka Epps) struggles to accept Dan's failings - in the hope that a friendship with him will help both of them overcome their circumstances - she unwittingly leads Dan further down the path of self-destruction, which can only end with a clarifying moment of salvation or untimely death...

Half Nelson is a masterpiece film, emotionally purgative and hypnotically realistic; its depiction of people who only experience fleeting moments of happiness in a retrogressive, bleak world is so realistic that it is visually and spiritually and emotionally soul-shattering.