HALF NELSON (2006)

Cast

Plot

Dan Dunne is a young, inner-city, junior high-school teacher whose ideals wither and die in the face of reality. Rejecting the standard curriculum, in favour of an edgier approach, Dan teaches his students how change works, on both a historical and personal scale, and how to think for themselves. Though Dan is brilliant, dynamic and admired by his pupils, he spends his time outside school feeding his addiction to crack and it is only when one of his troubled students, Drey, catches him getting high that the two worlds collide. From this awkward beginning, Dan and Drey stumble into an unexpected friendship, one built on a genuine desire to save each other from their seemingly inevitable fate. Half Nelson is an intense and richly rewarding film, mesmerisingly performed by the two leads, with a pin point script and intelligent direction. A powerful reversal of the now cliched middle-class-teacher-inspires-kids-in-school flick.