Half Nelson movie review

Rating: 8.3/10

Half Nelson follows the story of Dan Dunne, a school teacher, with a drug problem he is trying to get rid of. He forms an unlikely relationship with one of her students, Drey, who one day finds out about her teacher’s drug habit. Complications rise as drugs overtake Dan’s life and Drey’s future is in jeopardy as she gets closer to her brother’s drug dealing friend.

Half Nelson is a terrific movie. It depicts one of the world’s biggest problems today, drugs. Drugs kill people every day, and it also kills the people that love you. Half Nelson shows how hard it is sometimes for someone to overcome their drug habit, or any problems that people have every day. And sometimes, a friend goes a long long way which Half Nelson tells us in this movie.

I have no problems with performances in this movie. No one apart from Ryan Gosling and Shareeka Epps stands out. The other actors, however, did a fine job and didn’t do any harm to the movie. They helped carry the movie well. This movie focuses on the lives of Dan and Drey anyway so Ryan Gosling and Shareeka Epps are in the spotlight. And they didn’t disappoint.

Ryan Gosling once again delivered a powerful performance as the troubled school teacher. He is extremely convincing on screen that I find myself caring for his character so much. Shareeka Epps also did a wonderful job as Drey, the quiet and mature school student. Shareeka Epps was brilliant in every scene she was in, whether it was a sad scene where she was crying, and a happy scene where she was laughing and cracking jokes. Ryan Gosling and Shareeka Epps carried this film to perfection.

I have no problem with this film. I think it was a well written piece of work. It was a slow film. If you had short attention span, you might lose yourself somewhere in the film. But that was not a problem for me. The story was so intriguing that I was paying attention the whole time. I was not bored. I was not looking at my watch. I was just sitting there, watching the film closely, and let the film show the magic.  

One small problem though, I wish the ending brings a little closure to the story. It was not that it wasn’t the Hollywood cliché that we see so often. It was a good ending but I just hope the filmmaker could give us a little closure, not left us hanging there, wondering, and surprised that the movie was finished. Another 2 minutes wouldn’t hurt anybody. Anyway I think it was still a good and realistic ending.

All in all, I think Half Nelson is a very well done film. It captivated the theme really well. It kept my attention the whole time. The script was wonderfully written. The acting was superb. The direction was genius. (I heard they filmed this movie handheld for most of the scenes) I absolutely liked this film. It sent out a good message. It’s a good low budget film that I suggest everyone to check out.