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Half Nelson (2006)
  • Caption: Half Nelson (2006)
  • Description: Dan Dunne (Ryan Gosling) is an eighth-grade history teacher in an inner-city school deep in the heart of Brooklyn. He eschews the provided curriculum in favor of off-the-cuff, but deeply heartfelt lectures about the importance of understanding history, rather than just memorizing it. He speaks primarily of dialectics, the tensions between two opposing forces. He is torn between his desire to change the world and his increasingly desperate realization that he can't, at least not in the grand, awe-inspiring ways that he envisioned as an eager, idealistic college student. He started using drugs as a way to escape the pain of life, and it has turned into a crutch that bears increasingly heavy loads of psychological weight. In his classroom, which is populated almost entirely by black and Hispanic students, Dan lectures about how the world is structured into opposing forces, illustrating it at one point by arm-wrestling one of his students. His unorthodox approach inspires them during class, but interestingly enough we don't see its effects outside the classroom. The film focuses on Dan and his relationship with Drey (Shareeka Epps), a 13-year-old student of his who catches him in the bathroom smoking crack after school one day. Drey understands Dan's frustrations with life; she is the child of an overworked single mother whom she barely sees, and spending so much time on her own has made her self-reliant, but also hard on the edges.

    Directed by
    Ryan Fleck

    Writing credits
    (WGA)
    Ryan Fleck (written by) &
    Anna Boden (written by)



    Cast (in credits order) complete, awaiting verification

    Ryan Gosling ... Dan Dunne
    Jeff Lima ... Roodly

    Shareeka Epps ... Drey

    Nathan Corbett ... Terrance
    Tyra Kwao-Vovo ... Stacy
    Rosemary Ledee ... Gina

    Tristan Wilds ... Jamal
    Bryce Silver ... Bernard
    Kaela C. Pabon ... Lena
    Erica Rivera ... Erika (as Erika Rivera)

    Stephanie Bast ... Vanessa

    Eleanor Hutchins ... Simone
    Sebastian Sozzi ... Javier

    Tina Holmes ... Rachel

    Karen Chilton ... Karen
    Kitty ... Dave
    Starla Benford ... Principal Henderson
    Anthony Mackie ... Frank

    Denis O'Hare ... Jimbo

    Monique Curnen ... Isabel (as Monique Gabriela Curnen)
    Deidre Goodwin ... Tina

    Collins Pennie ... Mike
    Thaddeus Daniels ... Referee
    Susan Kerner ... Motel Slow Dancer
    Raymond Anthony Thomas ... Earle (as Ray Anthony Thomas)
    Stanton Davis ... Trumpet Player (as Stanton Davis Jr.)
    Ron C. Jones ... Mr. Dickson (as Ron Cephas Jones)

    Christopher Williamson ... Charles

    Leslie Eva Glaser ... Rose

    Sharon Washington ... Suzanne
    Deborah Rush ... Jo Dunne
    Jay O. Sanders ... Russ Dunne (as Jay Sanders)

    Nicole Vicius ... Cindy
    David Easton ... Jeff Dunne

    Adepero Oduye ... Crack Smoker

    Katie Nehra ... Woman with Camera
    Steve Kursh ... Man on Bed
    Matt Kerr ... Mr. Light
  • Actor/Actress/Director:
  • Movie: Half Nelson
  • Id: 10892415
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