Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

My friend Helen and me have been reviewing films recently on here, and we always get a little confused with story lines that don't make sense- and this one was no exception. Helen is 55, I'm 47. We also knit and small talk during a screening, as this helps us balance our ideas. Half Nelson is about a inner city school teacher, Ryan Gosling, who also is addicted to drugs. He teaches history to junior high students. One of his female students, Shareeka Epps, catches him in the bathroom getting high. She doesn't snitch on him- because she is in fact, fond of him. Epps lives at home with her single mother but is smarter then you would think, and more mature for a girl of barely 13 years old. She seems to take a liking to older men. She is secretly seeing a thug named Frank, played by Anthony Mackie. Mackie is a drug dealer who lets Epps ride in his truck while he takes her out to lunch. You can already tell he's had sex with with, despite her being under age. He also wants her to start selling for him. She's a cool read though. In fact, from a distance Epps looks like a boy. She doesn't have a pretty face, and she likes sucking on blow pop candies- an indication of what else she likes to do. Helen and me began to get confused around the half hour mark, like we usually do- and our knitting turned into a full blown sewing session. Gosling's motivation makes no sense. If he's a drug addict, why is he teaching? Who's this random woman who keeps showing up at his apartment and claims something happened to her mother. Why is the principal getting mad at him for not opening a folder on civil rights? He's the teacher, let him teach his way. He should have gone to the union to have the Principal fired for disrupting his class to scold him like he was a student himself. Epps character is even more foggy. Why is she into dating older men? That's illegal and not a wise move. Why are most of the kids in the school black and why would Gosling put himself in danger by working in the ghetto? Not to sound racist, just didn't make a lick of sense. Helen added that back in her day, an interracial relationship like the one Epps and Gosling share would be considered illegal and be held up in the courts. We glanced at the television from time to time but the story got less and less understandable. Basically this is about a young black girl's lust for dating grown men who have a bad boy side. FINAL GRADE: C for Confusing!

Half Nelson, a very low-budget movie, happens to be one of the most intense, revealing character dramas of recent years. At first, I didn't like the choppy camera work but then I came to realize it added a more gritty, realistic feeling to the film. It's definitely slow and kind of depressing, but the teacher-student relation will keep you entranced and wondering what is going to happen to these two.Ryan Fleck's film is about a history teacher and basketball coach who has a serious drug habit and he keeps going everyday because of his love of the subject and more importantly, his students. But one day, one of his students, a troubled girl, witnesses his secret and that secret will bring them together along a shared path.Ryan Gosling has been in so many great movies but this one of his best early roles as leading man. He gives one hell of a performance and it shows how this dude can act. Does he play a bad man? I would think not. Is he a good guy with serious flaws? I would say yes. Because of Gosling's intense portrayal, we care about what happens to this guy. Shareeka Epps does very well as the troubled girl and she holds her own against Gosling.Overall, Half Nelson is a beautiful drama about how two similarly depressed people are able to connect even though they don't find much in life. It's a bit depressing but at the same time, it can be a tad uplifting as well. For a very low budget, this film speaks on higher levels and proves you don't need extremely high budgets to make good movies. I rate this film 9/10.

Yes, it's been eight years and i still can't believe it. It was like yesterday when i stayed up late,looking for a movie to watch to distract me from my loneliness. Ryan Gosling got my attention with "The notebook", he made this really corny romantic story into something more, he created the character of Noah-the character of the lonely, left behind guy, who tries to find meaning in life, but instead grows a beard and keeps his promise of building a house. I'm sure there are so much more characters like this but this one really got me. And now this beautiful film-"Half Nelson"-the story of a teacher but not your "Dead poets society" teacher, who jumps and excites you, no. The lost teacher who has nothing and no one, and only the children keep him focused. You should be very careful before starting watching this film, because it doesn't have much happening in it. Its just a moment, couple of days from the life of this guy. My favourite scene is when he is dancing with this woman he met in the bar, while "lover's spit"is playing. I think this is one of the most powerful scenes of the century.

Dan Dunne (Ryan Gosling) teaches history at Brooklyn high school attended mostly by black and Hispanic students. He engages his students inside the classroom. Outside of his classroom, he's a drug addict. His ex Rachel (Tina Holmes) was able to get clean, but not him. Then one day in school, one of his students Drey (Shareeka Epps) catches him in the bathroom. They form a complex relationship.This is another step in Ryan Gosling's acting career. He's perfectly natural as this a complicated character. After 'The Notebook', he could easily devolve into a nothing acting unable to take chances. He's definitely taken a chance here. He doesn't overplay the character. It's a subtle performance, and he's well supported by Shareeka as well as others.