Pushing Back while Pulling Forward.
Half Nelson is a movie worth your time to watch. It doesn’t begin at the beginning of anything, and it certainly doesn’t end when the movie credits rolls. It shows a glimpse into the lives of two believable people, both at major crossroads of their lives.
Dan Dunne is an inner city History teacher and girl’s basketball coach. He finds a lot of time to be a major crack addict with a crazy nightlife. He has no friends, no girlfriend, but several one-night-stands. However, he is an amazing and engaging teacher. He will not stick to the provided curriculum, but prefers instead to teach that “history is change” and referencing Hegelian themes. A tree is both strong and weak, both crooked and straight. This is the perfect explanation for Dan’s own life. He is neither the hero, nor the villain of the story. He is not a good guy with a drug addiction, nor is he a bad guy who has a few good qualities.
Drey is a latchkey, 13-year-old girl, who is on Dan’s basketball team, and in his history class. Her single mother works all the time, and her brother is in jail for selling drugs. After a basketball game, Drey finds Dan smoking crack in the girl’s bathroom. She is completely unsurprised and is obviously familiar with this world, as she helps him lay down on the ground and wipes off his forehead with a cloth. Her brother’s friend, Frank, helps Drey’s family out with money, but also encourages Drey to join him in selling drugs. Frank and Dan struggle to be the role model for Drey in her life, but as one sells drugs and the other is a major user, neither are entirely what she needs. By the end of the film, Drey ignores Frank’s call to deliver crack, but there is no telling that she will not assist him again, and it can be assumed that Dan will smoke crack again.
The camerawork is a bit shaky and unsteady, but this adds to the reality and shakiness of life. Actors, Shareeka Epps, who plays Drey, and Ryan Gosling who plays Dan Dunne, both have award-winning performances. This movie is great because of how believable it is, no one is all good or all bad, but rather these actors do an amazing job of being all things all the time. They are struggling to move forward, while being stuck where they are in their lives.