Underrated Films - Half Nelson

This is the first entry in a series of writings I'll start as a tribute to films I consider underrated or inexplicably little known. I've only posted writings a few number of times in the past few months, and I've decided I should start writing more frequently on this blog (as compensation to my non-existent readers).

Half Nelson, in particular, is a movie I've come back to time and time again for the past couple of years, and it's slowly become one of my truly favourite films. An inner-city school teacher Dan Dunne (Ryan Gosling) teaches his students against the standard curriculum, struggles with a serious drug addiction and befriends good-hearted student Drey (Shareeka Epps) after she accidentally catches him getting high after hours in a gym locker room. What follows is an honest portrayal of the most unlikely of friendships, as well as Dan's desperate attempts to recover, all the while descending more and more into self-destruction.

I first heard about this film from At the Movies with Ebert and Roeper, when Kevin Smith was filling in for Roger Ebert. They praised the film, but Kevin Smith went even further, calling the film "one of the ten best of the last decade." And it's evident why Smith would have enjoyed this film, since it's the kind of independent filmmaking he used to be known for. Interested, I looked into the film even more, eventually finding out it was written and directed by collaborators Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden, and adapted from their own short film.

Most of the praise for this film goes to Ryan Gosling's performance. Startlingly mature, it's the kind of natural and understated performance that's reminiscent of Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy from Before Sunset. Two crucial scenes reveal why he was nominated for the Best Actor Academy Award - one involving his stay at a motel with a prostitute, and one where he confronts local drug dealer Frank (Anthony Mackie). And in one heartbreaking scene, scored with Broken Social Scene's "Shampoo Suicide," Gosling's face says a thousand words without saying uttering one. Co-stars Shareeka Epps and Anthony Mackie are also highlights.

Half Nelson is not a big film. It's small and it's subtle. But it's also interesting and engaging, and its protagonists and antagonists are some of the most realistic to come out in a long time. It's optimistic and cynical at the same time. It sports some of the best performances of the decade. And in the latter part of 2006, it could've well restored faith in both independent filmmaking, and American cinema in general.