FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Murphy Howard I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

minigonche Yes, It's a story about a washed out teacher with a drug problem.. But what I love about this film is that he feels close, similar, like it happened to you.No one is bad or good, they're all just human. A film that teaches us that connection comes from the soul, not from age. There are no dramas, no over the top fights, screams or disasters... Witness how life happens under unfruitful circumstances and how it always continues.

George Wright A great character role by Ryan Gosling as Dan Dunne, an imaginative and creative high school teacher with a drug habit. Eventually his extra curricular life catches up with him when friends and colleagues see some bizarre behaviour. Ryan Gosling shows a range of acting talents as a dedicated teacher whose life spirals out of control. The hidden life is first discovered by one of his students, Drea, a good friend. I liked their initial friendship, which became more than just being friends. The student, played by Shareeka Epps, and Anthony Mackie as Frank, the nice guy dealer, are both outstanding among some other fine supporting actors. A great performance by Gosling with a fine cast behind him is a movie worth seeing.

Vasco Cid Gosling carries the film out of semi obscurity, undeservedly so, with a tour de force performance conveying bravery and range well beyond his years. He plays a young and apparently together history teacher/ basketball coach at a predominantly black Brooklyn school, battling with severe depression and addiction while off duty. When one semi troubled and off the tracks student uncovers his secret in a brutal and chilling bathroom scene, their connection evolves to an ever growing judgmental and glass-house-rapport leading to an inevitable and somewhat unexpected interconnection.Missing a stronger grasp at the helm and more effective editing, Ryan Fleck overuses the shaky camera to a point of exhaustion, beyond what the gripping story asks for sometimes losing the viewer that is never quite alienated thanks to Gosling's magnetism and deserving first Oscar nomination.

JaysonT 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!