Half Nelson

About the movie

Dan Dunne (Ryan Gosling) is a young high school teacher whose ideals wither and die in the face of reality. Rejecting the standard curriculum in favor of an edgier approach, Dan teaches his students how change works and how to think for themselves. Though Dan is brilliant, dynamic, and in control in the classroom, he spends his time outside school on the edge of consciousness. His disappointments and disillusionment have led to a serious drug habit. He juggles his hangovers and his homework, keeping his lives separated, until one of his troubled students, Drey (Shareeka Epps), catches him getting high after school. From this awkward beginning, Dan and Drey stumble into an unexpected friendship.
Half Nelson is the critically acclaimed and prized film about courage, will and the unexpected friendship between a teacher and his student in downtown Brooklyn. Half Nelson was Oscar nominated for Best male actor and won the Independent Spirit award for Best Male Lead and Best Female Lead in 2007, it also won the Special Prize of the Jury and Youth Jury Award at the Sundance Film festival and a special mention at Locarno International Film festival in 2006. Half Nelson opened in the US to a spectacular box office screen average summer 2006.

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