2006 / Ryan Fleck > Bad before the good: Much of the film’s realism and objectivity is lost through the “mini-lectures” made on society and the government. While interesting, they take away from the interplay between the king (Gosling) and queen (Epps) of the show. The only reasonable explanation for these inserts might be that writers Fleck and Anna Boden needed a little bit of this and that to stretch the original short (“Gowanus, Brooklyn”) into this full-fledged feature.

That aside, the poignancy of Half Nelson is present in the way it’s resonated in my mind for the past few weeks. Against the backdrop of Broken Social Scene’s score, Gosling’s portrayal of a crack-addicted schoolteacher in the inner-city is a testing experience. The beats are heavy, and the film is filled with areas of gray that have little in terms of definition. Shareeka Epps’ performance as Gosling’s headstrong pupil is glowing—undoubtedly one of the breakout young actors of the year. Not much of the story is predictable. The second half of the film crescendoes into its final sequence, one of heartbreak and simplicity. Things click, and things may or may not work. Thankfully, the film does.