PrintDecember 8, 2007
'Half Nelson' and the Kids
Recent flops such as Rendition and Lions for Lambs wear their anti-American bias on their sleeve. Others try to sneak it in the back door.Last year's critically praised, Academy Award nominee Half Nelson (out on DVD) is about a Brooklyn 8th grade teacher (Ryan Gosling) with a nasty crack habit. Not far into the film, he is discovered by one of his students (Shareeka Epps) in a bathroom stall, and they form an unlikely friendship. He coaches the girls' basketball team after school, hits the bars at night, then tries to put together coherent sentences for his students after long nights of drugs and booze. The acting is credible, and you can't help but wonder if he is going to pull out of his addictions, or continue on the fast track to self destruction. The film flows along at an easy pace, and it has your attention. Then suddenly things change. At an arbitrary point during one of his incoherent history lessons, the fourth wall is...(Read Full Article)
