Half Nelson (film)

Infobox_Film
name = Half Nelson


director = Ryan Fleck
producer = Anna Boden
Lynette Howell
Rosanne Korenberg
Alex Orlovsky
Jamie Patricof
writer = Anna Boden
Ryan Fleck
starring = Ryan Gosling
Shareeka Epps
Anthony Mackie
music = Broken Social Scene
cinematography = Andrij Parekh
edit = Anna Boden
distributor = ThinkFilm
released = August 11, 2006
runtime = 106 min.
country = United States flagicon|USA
language = English
budget = $700,000
gross = $4,650,355
awards =
amg_id = 1:339989
imdb_id = 0468489

"Half Nelson" is an Academy Award-nominated 2006 American film that premiered in competition at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, and was released theatrically on August 11, 2006. It is written by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, stars Ryan Gosling, Shareeka Epps and Anthony Mackie and is directed by Ryan Fleck. The film was scored by Juno-Award-winning Canadian band Broken Social Scene.

The story concerns an inner-city junior high school teacher who forms an unlikely friendship with one of his students after she discovers that he has a drug habit. The film is based on a 19-minute film made by Boden and Fleck in 2004, titled "Gowanus, Brooklyn". [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0392061/ Gowanus, Brooklyn (2004) ] ]

"Half Nelson" was screened at the Philadelphia Film Festival on April 1, 2006. Director Ryan Fleck and actress Shareeka Epps attended the screening and answered questions from the audience.

Plot outline

Dan Dunne (Ryan Gosling) is a young urban high school teacher whose ideals wither and die in the face of reality. Day after day in his shabby Brooklyn classroom, he finds the energy to inspire his 13 and 14-years-old to examine everything from civil rights to the civil war with a new enthusiasm. Rejecting the standard curriculum in favor of an edgier approach, Dan teaches his students how change works—on both a historical and personal scale—and how to think for themselves.

Though Dan is brilliant, dynamic and in control of the classroom, he spends his time outside school on the edge of consciousness. Early in the film we see Dan smoking crack in a school locker room after he coaches the school's girls basketball team. While there, one of his players, Drey (Shareeka Epps) catches him getting high. As the plot moves forward, we learn little about how or why Dan got involved with drugs. We find that a former girlfriend has successfully gone through drug rehab, and that the Dunne family has fissures of its own. But Fleck primarily sets moods throughout the film, leaving large ellipses for the viewer to fill in, rather than directly illuminate Dan's story.

Drey's troubles are more plainly spelled out. Her parents are not together, and her father is irresponsible and seemingly uninvolved in her life. Drey's brother, Mike, is in prison for selling drugs for a neighborhood dealer, Frank (Anthony Mackie). And Drey's mother is constantly working as an EMT to keep the family together. Drey's lack of proper adult supervision make her a target for Frank's operation.

The tension in the film comes from Drey's attempts to save Dan from the consequences of his drug habit, and Dan's efforts to keep Drey from following in her brother Mike's footsteps. These two people are better able to save each other than to save themselves.

Reception

The film was greeted with high critical acclaim, found its way on many top ten films of 2006 lists and even calculated an overall average of [http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/halfnelson?q=half%20nelson 85 out of 100] on Metacritic.

On the television show "Ebert & Roeper" that aired during the weekend of August 13, 2006, Richard Roeper and guest critic Kevin Smith gave "Half Nelson" a "two big thumbs up" rating. Smith went so far as to say that it was probably one of the ten best films he had seen in the last decade. [ [http://tvplex.go.com/buenavista/ebertandroeper/060814.html Ebert & Roeper, Reviews for the Weekend of August 12 - 13, 2006 ] ] Jim Emerson, editor of Roger Ebert.com gave the movie four stars out of four. [ [http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060914/REVIEWS/609140302/1023 :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews :: Half Nelson (xhtml) ] ]

"Entertainment Weekly" film critic Lisa Schwarzbaum awarded the film with an A and stated in her review for the film, "Half Nelson" offers an opportunity to marvel, once again, at the dazzling talent of Ryan Gosling for playing young men as believable as they are psychologically trip-wired." [ [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1224620,00.html Half Nelson | Movie Review | Entertainment Weekly ] ]

"LA Weekly" critic Scott Foundas wrote, "At a time when most American movies, studio made or "independent," seem ever more divorced from anything approximating actual life experience, Half Nelson is so sobering and searingly truthful that watching it feels like being tossed from a calm beach into a raging current." [ [http://www.laweekly.com/film+tv/film/opposites-attract/14322/ LA Weekly - Film+TV - Opposites Attract - Scott Foundas - The Essential Online Resource for Los Angeles ] ]

"Los Angeles Times" critic Kenneth Turan gave the film an enthusiastic response stating in his review, "What is different about "Half Nelson" is the execution, the kind of subtlety in writing, directing and acting (by costars Shareeka Epps and Anthony Mackie as well as Gosling) you seldom see." [ [http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/cl-et-nelson25aug25,0,3397379.story 'Half Nelson' - MOVIE REVIEW - Los Angeles Times - calendarlive.com ] ]

Critics appreciated the mere fact that the film was true to human nature. Notably, film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum of the "Chicago Reader" wrote that "a dedicated, charismatic, crack-addicted history teacher is the most believable protagonist in an American movie this year." [ [http://www.chicagoreader.com/features/stories/moviereviews/060915/ Chicago Reader: Movie Reviews ] ]

* "Baltimore Sun" (A–) [http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/movies/bal-to.halfnelson15sep15,0,3612908.story?coll=bal-artslife-movies link]
* "Boston Globe" rating|8|10 [http://www.boston.com/movies/display?display=movie&id=9045 link]
* "Chicago Reader" rating|4|4 [http://www.chicagoreader.com/features/stories/moviereviews/060915/ link]
* "Chicago Tribune" rating|3.5|4 [http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/movies/mmx-060915-movies-review-nelson,0,6123864.story?coll=mmx-movies_top_heds link]
* "Entertainment Weekly" (A) [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1224620,00.html link]
* "Film Threat" rating|4|4 [http://www.filmthreat.com/index.php?section=reviews&Id=8359 link]
*"Houston Chronicle" rating|4|4 [http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ent/movies/reviews/4131331.html link]
* "New York Magazine" rating|8|10 [http://nymag.com/movies/reviews/18855/index1.html link]
* "Salon.com" rating|8|10 [http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/review/2006/08/24/btm/ link]
* "Seattle Post-Intelligencer" rating|8|10 [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/movies/284251_halfnelson08q.html link]
* "Slate Magazine" rating|8|10 [http://www.slate.com/id/2147494 link]
* "Stylus Magazine" (A) [http://stylusmagazine.com/articles/movie_review/half-nelson.htm link]
* "The New York Times" rating|9|10 [http://movies2.nytimes.com/2006/08/11/movies/11half.html?ref=movies link]
* "The Onion" A.V. Club (A–) [http://www.avclub.com/content/node/51423 link]
* "The Oregonian" rating|8.5|10 [http://www.oregonlive.com/movies/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/1157588727221070.xml&coll=7 link]
* "TV Guide" rating|4|4 [http://online.tvguide.com/detail/movie.aspx?id=46994&sourcetype=m link]
* "USA Today" rating|9|10 [http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/reviews/2006-08-17-half-nelson_x.htm link]
* "Village Voice" rating|9|10 [http://www.villagevoice.com/film/0632,nelson,74112,20.html link]
* "Washington Post" rating|8|10 [http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?node=cityguide/profile&id=1121243&categories=Movies&nm=1 link]

Awards and nominations

Many of the nominations were for Ryan Gosling, including the Oscar, for his performance as Dan Dunne.

* Academy Awards Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role: Ryan Gosling — nominated (2007)
* Black Reel Awards Best Breakthrough Performance: Shareeka Epps — nominated; Best Supporting Actress: Shareeka Epps — nominated (2007)
* Boston Society of Film Critics Awards Best New Filmmaker: Ryan Fleck — winner; Best Supporting Actress: Shareeka Epps — nominated (2006)
* Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards Best Actor: Ryan Gosling — nominated; Best Young Actress: Shareeka Epps — nominated (2007)
* Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Most Promising Performer: Shareeka Epps — nominated (2006)
* Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards Russell Smith Award: Ryan Fleck — winner (2006)
* Deauville Film Festival Jury Special Prize: Ryan Fleck — winner; Revelations Prize: Ryan Fleck — winner (2006)
* Gotham Awards Best Film: Ryan Fleck — winner; Breakthrough Award: Shareeka Epps tied with Rinko Kikuchi for Babel; Breakthrough Director Award: Ryan Fleck — winner (2006)
* Independent Spirit Awards Best Female Lead: Shareeka Epps — winner; Best Male Lead: Ryan Gosling — winner; Best Director: Ryan Fleck — nominated; Best Feature: Jamie Patricof, Alex Orlovsky, Lynette Howell, Anna Boden, and Rosanne Korenberg — nominated; Best First Screenplay: Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck — nominated (2007)
* Locarno International Film Festival Special Prize of the Jury: Ryan Fleck (director), Anna Boden (producer), Lynette Howell (producer), Rosanne Korenberg (producer), Alex Orlovsky (producer), and Jamie Patricof (producer) - winner; Youth Jury Award — Special Mention: Ryan Fleck — winner; Golden Leopard: Ryan Fleck — nominated (2006)
* Nantucket Film Festival Screenwriting Award: Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck — winner (2006)
* National Board of Review Best Breakthrough Performance — Male: Ryan Gosling — winner (2006)
* Philadelphia Film Festival Best Director: Ryan Fleck — winner (2006)
* San Francisco International Film Festival Best Film: Ryan Fleck — winner (2006)
* Seattle International Film Festival Golden Space Needle Audience Award Best Actor: Ryan Gosling — winner (2006)
* Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role: Ryan Gosling — nominated (2007)
* Stockholm Film Festival Best Actor: Ryan Gosling — winner (2006)
* Sundance Film Festival Dramatic: Ryan Fleck — nominated (2006)

oundtrack

The soundtrack was released in USA in August 8, 2006.

DVD releases

"Half Nelson" was released on DVD on February 13, 2007 courtesy of ThinkFilm and Sony Pictures. Bonus features include outtakes, deleted scenes, filmmaker commentary, and a music video by Rhymefest.

References

External links

*imdb title|0468489|Half Nelson
*rotten-tomatoes|id=half_nelson|title=Half Nelson
*metacritic film|id=halfnelson|title=Half Nelson
*mojo title|id=halfnelson|title=Half Nelson