Rent Half Nelson (2006)
3.2 of 5 from 192 ratings
1h 42min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Dan Dunne (Ryan Gosling) is an inner city high school teacher. Dynamic and inspirational in the classroom, he spends his time outside of school on the edge of consciousness. His personal disappointments and disillusionment have led to a serious drug habit. Dan juggles his hangovers and his homework, keeping his lives separated, until one of his students, Drey (Shareeka Epps), catches him getting high after school. From this awkward begging, Dan and Drey stumble into an expected friendship. They are both at an important intersection. Depending on which way they turn, their lives are going to change.
- Actors:
- Ryan Gosling, Anthony Mackie, Shareeka Epps, Jeff Lima, Nathan Corbett, Tyra Kwao-Vovo, Rosemary Ledee, Tristan Wilds, Bryce Silver, Kaela C. Pabon, Erica Rivera, Stephanie Bast, Eleanor Hutchins, Sebastian Sozzi, Tina Holmes, Karen Chilton, Kitty, Starla Benford, Denis O'Hare, Monique Gabriela Curnen
- Directors:
- Ryan Fleck
- Producers:
- Anna Boden, Lynette Howell Taylor, Rosanne Korenberg, Alex Orlovsky, Jamie Patricof
- Writers:
- Ryan Fleck, Anna Boden
- Aka:
- La otra cara de Nelson
- Studio:
- Axiom
- Genres:
- Children & Family, Drama
- Collections:
- Award Winners, Back to School: Best Films Featuring Teachers, Films & TV by topic, Getting to Know..., Getting to Know: Ryan Gosling, Oscar Nominations Competition 2024
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- Not released
- Run Time:
- 105 minutes
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Reviews (5) of Half Nelson
Great Drama - Half Nelson review by sb
Very good urban drama with Gosling as the heart of gold teacher who seems to function normally but has a serious secret drug habit - one of his pupils (Epps) discovers this but keeps quiet and the two strike up a tentative frienship - her uncle is a dealer and tries to get her to join the business - forcing Gosling into direct action. What's interesting about it is that is non-judgemental - a junkie teacher would be an obvious target for moral panic but the film merely observes without drawing any conclusions - both leads work very together and Gosling shows even back then just what a superb actor he is - highly reccomended...
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
Teaching on Empty - Half Nelson review by griggs
Ryan Fleck avoids making alienation feel like a cliché on screen, but still makes it sting in Half Nelson. At its heart is Dan Dunne, a Brooklyn teacher unable to square his ideals with his wreckage. Ryan Gosling plays him with quiet devastation—absolutely deserving of his Oscar nomination—a man desperate to connect, yet sealed in his own loneliness. It’s a performance that lives in the silences as much as the words.
What gives the film its power is just how extraordinary it feels. Classroom lessons, strained conversations, and an unlikely friendship with one of his students quietly reveal the gulf between who Dan wants to be and who he is. The handheld cinematography doubles down on realism, though the constant wobble veers into migraine territory—proof that authenticity can sometimes punish as much as it reveals.
Still, as a portrait of loneliness and fractured identity, it moves. Half Nelson is alienation laid bare: messy, flawed, and uncomfortably real.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
Good US Indie. - Half Nelson review by Steve
A sincere, dedicated teacher serving poor kids in New York, is trying to help a troubled thirteen year old girl, when she discovers his heroin addiction, and the wreckage of his own personal life. Ryan Gosling and Shareeka Epps really make you care, despite the slightly contrived set up and the bleak themes.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.