Reviews of Half Nelson 2006
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I am not sure I totally got this movie and it definitely grew on me while I watched it. On the surface it is about an unconventional friendship between a teacher and one of his students. Various underlying issues such as race, drugs, addiction, family and relationships are dealt with in the course of the movie.
It is paced rather slowly, the acting performances are top-notch and it has its own unique visual style with lots of camera shake, close up shots and large apertures. Needs some time to sink in and will probably keep you thinking about it for a while.
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As much as I really wanted to love this film, it ended up falling flat for me due to the slow pace. I couldn't keep myself engaged in the story, and my mind kept wandering...
I love everything they were trying to say in this film, I just didn't like the way they presented it. -
oh my fucking god this movie :{
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I think its safe to say I have a bit of a man-crush on Ryan Gosling and once again in this he has displayed his incredible acting talent proving he is one of the finest actors of his generation. The film is moody, its dark and feels very real thanks to an intelligent use of cinematography, editing and music (or lack thereof) but ultimately the thing which makes this film so great is Gosling's performance. He carries the film on…
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What differentiates this film from others with almost exactly the same premise and/or plot? The direction of Ryan Fleck would be my first choice, he doesn't aim for tears, there's no attempt to play your heartstrings like he's a common McG or whoever, he just lets the action unfold naturally and gets good performances from his cast. Shareeka Epps definitely comes a close second, casting a talented young actor in your precocious/damaged kid role is vitally important to this type…
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Már a megnézése előtt gondoltam, hogy nem lesz a kedvenc filmjeim között. Nem vártam tőle sokat.
Voltak elég unalmas részek, de az alakítások jók voltak. Egyszer nézős. -
this is a scary movie for me. i sort of lived this. very personal.
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Even though Half Nelson came first, I was reminded of Terri while watching it, which I also just recently saw for the first time. Both wonderful films about the power of teacher-pupil connection. Half Nelson is of course much darker - on the surface, at least - in that our protagonist is very visibly troubled by a drug addiction; that makes for a very interesting mood, as our attitudes towards his friendship with his disaffected student are complex and a tad reticent. Ryan Gosling is wonderful, as ever; Shareeka Epps is also great as his student.
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'Half Nelson' is one of those movies that slightly upset me. Having been raised in a community of pretty much middle class families in a prosperous little town, people such as those portrayed in the film isn't one of those things that naturally stay in my mind all the time. Movies like 'Half Nelson' remind me of these places, these groups of people so tightly knit together - children with no future, adults with no present. My initial response to…
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On rewatch this film went through the roof for me.Superb performance from Gosling playing the junky teacher with great support all round.It really wowed me
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I had very high expectations on this film, and I'm a little bit disapointed.
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Fantastic ending to an average film.