Andrew Bailes
  • Home
  • About
  • Media
  • Writing
  • Contact
  • Footnotes
  • Home
  • About
  • Media
  • Writing
  • Contact
  • Footnotes
Search by typing & pressing enter

YOUR CART

Footnotes.

1/14/2016 0 Comments

Five Moments of Honesty in Film – Number Two: Half Nelson

Picture
Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's Half Nelson is one that stays with the viewer long after their initial experience. The perfectly packaged film contains every element that comprises a solid work of art: a brilliant script that explores social change; inventive direction; sharp editing; a beautiful score (provided by Broken Social Scene); and - above all - honest, sincere acting.
 
Ryan Gosling plays Dan Dunne, a middle-school teacher in Brooklyn who forms a close relationship with one of his students, Drey (played by Shareeka Epps). 
Picture
Despite having a respectful demeanor in the classroom, Dan possesses a secret addiction to cocaine. Dan's dependence is discovered by Drey when she finds him freebasing in a locker room at school.
When discovered, Dan's stunned shame is amplified by Drey's disappointment. Gosling and Dunne play off of each other with such strikingly honest intensity. The juxtaposition of their relationship is examined throughout the entire film, along with the exploration of sobering truths about society's complex class divide.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015

    Footnotes

    Some thoughts on art, life, and theatre. Stay positive.

    Categories

    All Art Life Theatre

    RSS Feed

© COPYRIGHT 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.