half nelson

Last night, Alex and I went and saw "Half Nelson," with our friends Chris and Susie. None of us really knew what to expect. It's hard to know what to expect from a little picture and the blurb they stick into the program. Sometimes you can guess based on the director or the writers, but this was directed and written by people that Alex and I had never heard of. Thankfully though, we were all glad that we saw it.

It was very moving. It's a story about a teacher/coach at an inner city middle school who has a serious drug problem. An unlikely, and bordering on inappropriate friendship emerges with one of his students, and the story unfolds. The main characters are Dan and Drey, pictured above, and are played by Ryan Gosling and new comer Shareeka Epps. I've seen a lot of movies with Ryan Gosling, and can safely say that this is his best role yet. And the young, Shareeka Epps gave an inspirational performance.

It should get picked up, and brought to a theater near you, but keep in mind, this isn't necessarily an "upper." It's hard to watch the main character, who is very likeable, do what he does to himself throughout the film, but it's certainly worth watching.