Half Nelson

Half Nelson - 3.5/5

OK - so this is hardly an up-to-the-minute review - this one's been around for a couple of months, but it vanished so quickly originally that I've just managed to catch it when it re-surfaced. And, whilst being pretty heavy going, its well worth checking out. It offers a twist to the Dangerous Minds/inspiring teacher in inner city school sub-genre, in that in this case the teacher is a crack addict.

The film centres around the unlikely frindship that forms between teacher Daniel Dunn (Ryan Gosling) and student Drey (Shareeka Epps) after she discovers him smoking crack in the school loos. This is quite a bleak film whose strength lies in the characters - all are portrayed as complex individuals and there are no stereotypes here - even the drug dealer who gradually sucks Drey into his world is given a very human part. However, the film belong to Gosling (deservingly nominated for an Oscar for a man whose claims of having things under control become increasingly desparate) and Epps giving one of the strongest child performances ever. Both are excellent and restrained in their performances, giving a believability to their characters and their questionable friendship

Although the film ends with a glimmer of hope, there is an inevitability about the descent of both characters that makes then truly tragic and the scene when things reach their nadir is a real gut-wrencher. It's also very well scripted, with some provoking ideas. Not easy viewing, but well worth the effort.