Movie Review Black Los Angeles

BlackNLA Movie Reviews

*****THE REEL DEAL: Reviewz from the Street*****

by Edwardo Jackson

BIASES: 30 (yikes!) year old black male; frustrated screenwriter who favors action, comedy, and glossy, big budget movies over indie flicks, kiddie flicks, and weepy Merchant Ivory fare

HALF NELSON (R)

MOVIE BIASES: Roeper's about to have this movie's baby.
MAJOR PLAYERS: Ryan Gosling (The Notebook), Shareeka Epps, Anthony Mackie (Sucker Free City), and co-writer/director Ryan Fleck

Even if Richard Roeper hadn't fallen all over himself in praise of this movie on "Ebert & Roeper," I was still drawn to "Half Nelson" for its ShoWest 2004 Male Star of Tomorrow Ryan Gosling. With just a handful of really smart portrayals of really complex characters, Gosling has positioned himself in many critical circles as the most talented of his young peers. "Half Nelson" is a virtuoso performance that shows you exactly why.

Dan Dunne (Gosling) is a burnt out, New York City eighth grade history teacher. He lives a lonely existence highlighted by the occasional relationship-free hook-up or revolutionary book read like "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" or a biography on Che Guevara. What gets him through the days are the kids, and a stifling drug addiction, which is found out by one of his students, Drey (Epps) after a
basketball game. Their little secret blossoms into an oddly and mutually protective bond, as Mr. Dunne's driving her home fosters a fatherly regard for the streetwise young girl, anxious to keep her out of the clutches of neighborhood drug dealer Frank (Mackie). But as Dan's life circles the drain of his consciousness ("He's a basehead. Baseheads don't have friends," remarks Frank) and Drey becomes more
aware of the dangers in his life and hers, who's really the teacher and who's the student?

Employing a slightly unstable, handheld immediacy to the cinematography, Fleck gives us "Half Nelson" as the disintegration of a man in real time, how his frustration and shortcomings of the educational system, hell, even his own life in general, propel his descent into self-destruction. "Half Nelson" subtly engages high-minded ideals of dialectics, the nature of personal and societal revolution, and tabula rasa. That is the singularly most powerful idea behind this movie: Are we a product of our environments or do we have the power to change? From its ambling, naturalistic shooting style and understated, grit-worn script, "Half Nelson" is about change - how we can empower it, and who are the change agents we let affect it in us.
As Dan's spirit begins its tidy-bowl of defeat, Fleck adroitly sprinkles intriguing historical revolutionary turning points throughout, as recited book report style by his learning-on-the-fly students. It's a smart, creative juxtaposition: a man who reads
Marxist texts and Black Power books is unable to affect revolution in his own psyche.

Offering Dan a life preserver in his drowning world of ennui and drug-addled, self-loathing haze, is the remarkably optimistic yet guarded 13 year old Drey, played with utter believability by the then 16 year old Shareeka Epps. Requesting rides home to fuel her crush on Mr. Dunne while simultaneously shielding herself from the influences of the street that subsumed her now inmate brother, Epps' adoring,
lollipop-wielding Drey, whose motto is "You don't have to worry about me," is a powerfully underplayed role. As a child having to raise herself in the absence of her perpetually working single mom, Epps connects with all of us inner city, almost-latchkey children who were/are forced to grow up fast and without that mythical, suburban June Cleaver supervision. Another one of the most intriguing (and
trained - brotha went to JULLIARD!) young actors working today, Anthony Mackie, gives a politely menacing performance as Drey's would-be friend/wannabe employer Frank, directly responsible for her brother's incarceration and who may or may not be setting her up for an introduction to the family business.

As much as I hate to join the bleating of the sheep, it is simply unfathomable to discuss this movie intelligently without mentioning the Oscar-worthy work of Ryan Gosling. Even though it's absolutely painful to watch as he climbs down each lower and lower rung of his personal Dante's Inferno, Gosling's Dan Dunne bears a charismatic, seductive sadness behind his eyes that keep us coming back for more. Native Canadian Gosling - fronting a solidly believable, light New York accent, a scruffy beard, and slightly mischievous, guardedly dead eyes that always seem in the midst of a waking dream - is mesmerizing to the point of tragicomic. His vain attempts to keep Drey away from the life is at once hypocritical and awkwardly amusing, like a far less funny version of Dave Chappelle's blind white supremacist who's actually black. Gosling as Dunne, with his unorthodox, contentious, and undefined relationship with Drey, is effortless in every aspect of his performance; he's built for complicated, world weary characters like this. What I was not prepared for, however, is the unexpected climax, sure to be the clip they play at the Kodak Theater six months from now when they announce his Oscar-nominated name. Gosling's understated, destroyed-from-the-inside-out visage carries one of the
saddest, most brilliant scenes I have ever seen performed, so much so that his half-lidded, barely-there expression still haunts me to this day. Incredible, simply incredible.

I won't lie: like "Sherrybaby," "Half Nelson" is not cinematic Red Bull. It will not bring you joy nor will it "give you wings." It is a slow-moving, introspective, borderline depressing work of ideological and visual art - it is not for everyone. Before I even had a chance to review the press kit, my psychotherapist screening friend mentioned that a half Nelson is a wrestling move that's supposedly impossible of which to get out. Interesting. Just as with Roeper and myself, once
you see this movie, it will put a "Half Nelson" on your cinematic soul.

@@@@ REELS
(FOUR REELS)
An urban legend/instant classic.

Like what you read? Agree/disagree with The Reel Deal? Think he's talkin' out his...HUSH YO' MOUF! (I'm only talkin' about The Reel Deal!) Email him at ReelReviewz@aol.com!

Edwardo Jackson is the author of the novels EVER AFTER and NEVA HAFTA, (Villard/Random House), a writer for UrbanFilmPremiere.com, and an LA-based screenwriter. Visit his website at www.edwardojackson.com




			BlackNLA Movie Reviews ***THE REEL DEAL: Reviewz from the Street*** by Edwardo Jackson BIASES: 30 (yikes!) year old black male; frustrated screenwriter who favors action, comedy, and glossy, big budget movies over indie flicks, kiddie flicks, and weepy Merchant Ivory fare HALF NELSON (R) MOVIE BIASES: Roeper's about to have this movie's baby. MAJOR PLAYERS: Ryan Gosling (The Notebook), Shareeka Epps, Anthony Mackie (Sucker Free City), and co-writer/director Ryan Fleck Even if Richard Roeper hadn't fallen all over himself in praise of this movie on "Ebert & Roeper," I was still drawn to "Half Nelson" for its ShoWest 2004 Male Star of Tomorrow Ryan Gosling. With just a handful of really smart portrayals of really complex characters, Gosling has positioned himself in many critical circles as the most talented of his young peers. "Half Nelson" is a virtuoso performance that shows you exactly why. Dan Dunne (Gosling) is a burnt out, New York City eighth grade history teacher. He lives a lonely existence highlighted by the occasional relationship-free hook-up or revolutionary book read like "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" or a biography on Che Guevara. What gets him through the days are the kids, and a stifling drug addiction, which is found out by one of his students, Drey (Epps) after a basketball game. Their little secret blossoms into an oddly and mutually protective bond, as Mr. Dunne's driving her home fosters a fatherly regard for the streetwise young girl, anxious to keep her out of the clutches of neighborhood drug dealer Frank (Mackie). But as Dan's life circles the drain of his consciousness ("He's a basehead. Baseheads don't have friends," remarks Frank) and Drey becomes more aware of the dangers in his life and hers, who's really the teacher and who's the student? Employing a slightly unstable, handheld immediacy to the cinematography, Fleck gives us "Half Nelson" as the disintegration of a man in real time, how his frustration and shortcomings of the educational system, hell, even his own life in general, propel his descent into self-destruction. "Half Nelson" subtly engages high-minded ideals of dialectics, the nature of personal and societal revolution, and tabula rasa. That is the singularly most powerful idea behind this movie: Are we a product of our environments or do we have the power to change? From its ambling, naturalistic shooting style and understated, grit-worn script, "Half Nelson" is about change - how we can empower it, and who are the change agents we let affect it in us. As Dan's spirit begins its tidy-bowl of defeat, Fleck adroitly sprinkles intriguing historical revolutionary turning points throughout, as recited book report style by his learning-on-the-fly students. It's a smart, creative juxtaposition: a man who reads Marxist texts and Black Power books is unable to affect revolution in his own psyche. Offering Dan a life preserver in his drowning world of ennui and drug-addled, self-loathing haze, is the remarkably optimistic yet guarded 13 year old Drey, played with utter believability by the then 16 year old Shareeka Epps. Requesting rides home to fuel her crush on Mr. Dunne while simultaneously shielding herself from the influences of the street that subsumed her now inmate brother, Epps' adoring, lollipop-wielding Drey, whose motto is "You don't have to worry about me," is a powerfully underplayed role. As a child having to raise herself in the absence of her perpetually working single mom, Epps connects with all of us inner city, almost-latchkey children who were/are forced to grow up fast and without that mythical, suburban June Cleaver supervision. Another one of the most intriguing (and trained - brotha went to JULLIARD!) young actors working today, Anthony Mackie, gives a politely menacing performance as Drey's would-be friend/wannabe employer Frank, directly responsible for her brother's incarceration and who may or may not be setting her up for an introduction to the family business. As much as I hate to join the bleating of the sheep, it is simply unfathomable to discuss this movie intelligently without mentioning the Oscar-worthy work of Ryan Gosling. Even though it's absolutely painful to watch as he climbs down each lower and lower rung of his personal Dante's Inferno, Gosling's Dan Dunne bears a charismatic, seductive sadness behind his eyes that keep us coming back for more. Native Canadian Gosling - fronting a solidly believable, light New York accent, a scruffy beard, and slightly mischievous, guardedly dead eyes that always seem in the midst of a waking dream - is mesmerizing to the point of tragicomic. His vain attempts to keep Drey away from the life is at once hypocritical and awkwardly amusing, like a far less funny version of Dave Chappelle's blind white supremacist who's actually black. Gosling as Dunne, with his unorthodox, contentious, and undefined relationship with Drey, is effortless in every aspect of his performance; he's built for complicated, world weary characters like this. What I was not prepared for, however, is the unexpected climax, sure to be the clip they play at the Kodak Theater six months from now when they announce his Oscar-nominated name. Gosling's understated, destroyed-from-the-inside-out visage carries one of the saddest, most brilliant scenes I have ever seen performed, so much so that his half-lidded, barely-there expression still haunts me to this day. Incredible, simply incredible. I won't lie: like "Sherrybaby," "Half Nelson" is not cinematic Red Bull. It will not bring you joy nor will it "give you wings." It is a slow-moving, introspective, borderline depressing work of ideological and visual art - it is not for everyone. Before I even had a chance to review the press kit, my psychotherapist screening friend mentioned that a half Nelson is a wrestling move that's supposedly impossible of which to get out. Interesting. Just as with Roeper and myself, once you see this movie, it will put a "Half Nelson" on your cinematic soul. @@@@ REELS (FOUR REELS) An urban legend/instant classic. Like what you read? Agree/disagree with The Reel Deal? Think he's talkin' out his...HUSH YO' MOUF! (I'm only talkin' about The Reel Deal!) Email him at ReelReviewz@aol.com! Edwardo Jackson is the author of the novels EVER AFTER and NEVA HAFTA, (Villard/Random House), a writer for UrbanFilmPremiere.com, and an LA-based screenwriter. Visit his website at www.edwardojackson.com © 2004, Edwardo Jackson