MiraJeff shoots up and puts Ryan Gosling in a wicked HALF NELSON!!!

Greetings AICN, MiraJeff here with a look at Half Nelson, the Ryan Gosling flick that made waves at Sundance last year. Writer/Director Ryan Fleck and co-writer Anna Boden have crafted a film that hits you like a punch in the gut. It’s an under-the-radar gem that is sure to be one of the year’s most powerful, underappreciated movies.

Let me forewarn you; Half Nelson is not about wrestling, so all you WWE fans can stop reading now. The title is a metaphor for characters locked in a standstill with no direction to move and no place to go. Gosling stars as Dan, a junior high teacher at a public school in New York City who has a horrible secret; he’s a heroin addict. At school Dan is an idealistic professional, a guy who actually gives a shit about education and who got into teaching in the first place because he wanted to help kids and make the world a better place. However, whenever he’s out of the classroom, he’s cruising the ghetto in search of his latest fix, or finding a girl to “score” with. Dan has always managed to keep his private life out of the classroom until he decides to get high in a bathroom at school where he’s caught by one of his students, Drey (Shareeka Epps), a young girl struggling to make sense of the chaotic world around her. Her discovery of his secret leads to an unlikely, complicated friendship between teacher and student, one in which Dan oversteps his boundaries once he sees how Drey’s family treats her. Her drug dealing father, Frank (Anthony Mackie), acts like he wants what’s best for his daughter but seems to only want her around when she’s needed as a drug courier, delivering his product without any hint of suspicion. Inevitably, this leads to an encounter in which Drey sells drugs to Dan and they each see how the other really lives. The story seems simple but there is so much going on beneath the surface in this movie, I dare call it a brilliant. Half Nelson is an intense, riveting, beautifully written movie about hope and despair that is bolstered by mesmerizing performances across the board. As a drama, it’s undoubtedly worlds better than most of the crap indie studios are trying to pass off as art films for intellectuals these days.

And now for my Ryan Gosling shpiel. Gosling was the first celebrity I ever interviewed, way back when he did press for The United States of Leland, a brooding little indie movie that I happened to like. He was by far, the worst interview I have ever done. He was dating Sandra Bullock at the time because this was after Murder By Numbers, and he sat there next to that film’s director with his arms crossed, a scowl on his face, and body language that convinced me he was not happy to be there. Plus a reporter from People was bugging the shit out of him with questions about The Notebook and Bullock. He gave one-word answers and after he left all the critics in the room said he gave them nothing and was basically useless for wasting their oh so valuable time. Now, most have you have probably seen Remember the Titans and maybe you might remember him, and if you haven’t seen Leland or Murder By Numbers or Stay, or even The Notebook, especially if you’re a straight guy, then I can’t blame you. But it should be known that this guy can fucking act. Hard. If you haven’t seen The Believer then you should absolutely rent it. But this is the performance that sealed it for me. Ladies and gentlemen, Ryan Gosling has arrived, and he is the real deal. Hypothetically, if I had a kid, and I found out his teacher was a junkie, I’d want that teacher fired real fast. But Gosling pulls off the nearly impossible by making us care for and sympathize with this lost soul named Dan, who can’t seem to escape his personal demons. His performance is a tour-de-force that should linger in the back of Academy voters’ minds come awards season.

Shareeka Epps is a real find too. She actually originated the role of Drey in the acclaimed short (“Gowanus, Brooklyn”) that became Half Nelson. Epps is an unconventional child actress in the sense that she isn’t Dakota Fanning cute or polished like Haley Joel. She’s raw and she works. What this little girl pulls off with her eyes alone should book her work for the next decade. A friend of mine, Ms. Morgan Roberts, served as a PA on Half Nelson and had the pleasure of driving Shareeka to and from the set everyday. Morgan and Ryan said she was a consummate professional and she was certainly a pleasure to watch on screen. The sheer emotion on her face speaks volumes of her character and of her own personal abilities.

Lastly there’s Anthony Mackie. I’ve talked about him before in my review of Haven, which was recently delayed again. Mackie is the next certifiable black Hollywood star. Terrence Howard just hit it big this past year and Mackie is the next Terrence Howard. He’s been around little bit, popped up in some of Spike Lee’s work, but here, as Drey’s drug-dealing father, is his shining moment. Mackie is a young actor not to be messed with. As solid as Gosling is here, Mackie holds his own whenever the two of them square off, usually concerning Drey and what direction her life is headed.

As if I haven’t already said enough, the entire production is elevated by a musical score by the Canadian band Broken Social Scene, who provide brooding instrumentation that is simply gorgeous. When music like that accompanies images like those presented in this film, the result is a perfect combination of audio and video, a stunning technical achievement. Put it this way; what would the end of Heat be like without Moby’s “God Moving Over the Face of the Waters?” Casino without The Animals’ “House of the Rising Sun” playing over the final scene? Friday Night Lights without the Austin-bred Explosions in the Sky music?

I saw Half Nelson at a special screening as part of the Ivy Film Festival at Brown University. After the screening, Fleck hit the Providence bars with us and at only 25 years old, fit right in with the college kids, although he certainly stood out as the only one with a standing ovation at Sundance under his belt. Between you, me, and our little site here, he and Ms. Boden are in fact, more than just writing partners, which makes me jealous because she is absolutely adorable. Unfortunately she was feeling ill and couldn’t come out with us that night. Half Nelson is set to open on September 1st in theaters nationwide. I’m praying this film gets the widespread release it deserves from ThinkFilm because it really is a gut-wrenching movie. I suppose if anyone can show it the proper support it’s ThinkFilm. So I believe good luck and congratulations are in order for Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden, who are very busy working on a follow-up to this near masterpiece. My hat is off to both of them. Half Nelson put me in a headlock back in April and months later, it still hasn’t let me go. That my friends, is the mark of a great movie.

Well that’ll do it for me, folks. I’m working overtime here in LA to check out screenings of The Groomsmen, The Night Listener, Shadowboxer, and A Scanner Darkly. If you’re in Tinseltown and wanna drop me a line, feel free to at MiraJeff@aol.com. I’m new to the area and always looking for film friends. ‘Til next time, this is MiraJeff, signing off…