Half Nelson - (The movie) c/d?

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saw it yesterday, and yeah,it's very good, sort of an almost Dardenne realistic style of a movie, (only it is american) and with much obvious (though smart) metaphors about society,race,classes etc...,trying to bring the metaphors of the "big themes" of history and society to the small details of real life persons.it does it very good.

but, isn't it just a bit overrated by the critics?
i mean, it's too long, and it's a one (very good) trick pony movie.
a masterpiece? for an indie movie - yes. in general, just a very good one.

― emekars (emekars), Saturday, 19 August 2006 20:25 (nineteen years ago)

If they changed the name to "Sparks", I might go (by accident)

― mark grout (mark grout), Monday, 21 August 2006 08:08 (nineteen years ago)

It's good (esp. the main three performances), but no way it's half as good as anything the Dardenne brothers have done.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Sunday, 27 August 2006 15:29 (nineteen years ago)

three weeks pass...

I liked Gosling and the girl very much, but the script ultimately fails when it turns melodramatic; it's not all that different from a handheld Brooklyn version of all those films dramatizing black suffering where the 'hero' (OK, antihero in this case) is a white guy. Half Biko.

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 20 September 2006 12:58 (nineteen years ago)

It's good (esp. the main three performances),

Who is the 3rd main performer?

― billstevejim (billstevejim), Monday, 2 October 2006 18:29 (nineteen years ago)

Anthony Mackie.

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 2 October 2006 18:31 (nineteen years ago)

Very effective, tho it was all I could do to watch the whole thing, given personal history on the subject of junkies. When do you think it turned melodramatic, Morbs?

― Laurel (Laurel), Monday, 2 October 2006 18:35 (nineteen years ago)

which guy was anthony mackie?

― billstevejim (billstevejim), Monday, 2 October 2006 18:39 (nineteen years ago)

the dealer.

Melo when the girl starts delivery rounds. also, the scene with Teach's family was just gratuitous and sledgehammer-obvious.

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Monday, 2 October 2006 18:50 (nineteen years ago)

He's the dealer, isn't he? oops xpost

This movie did not blow my socks off or anything, but I enjoyed watching it. I thought the girl was really good. The part where she gets her bike back is great. Overall though, I think Gosling gets by on a LOT of natural charm. I really really don't want to find him charming and appealing, and yet...there he is, being charming and appealing.

I liked the subplot about the rehabbed girlfriend and the Spanish (?) teacher he boned as well as the little details, like his salsa records. I wondered why no one asked why he lived in such a shitpit.

― The Milkmaid (82375538-A) (The Milkmaid), Monday, 2 October 2006 18:50 (nineteen years ago)

The part where she gets her bike back is great.

See, I found it unconvincing -- her inner tuffgirl did not emerge the way it should've, and in retrospect it's only there for Screenwriting 101 Foreshadowing that she's gonna start carrying packages.

Did people think Drey had the hots for teacher or not? cuz in his angry pan, Armond White writes that she "is not even permitted the natural emotion of a schoolgirl crush by finding Dunne cute—which he is given Gosling’s Colin Farrell-scruffiness and sleepy, pleading eyes." It seemed a lot more opaque to me.

http://www.nypress.com/19/32/film/ArmondWhite.cfm

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Monday, 2 October 2006 18:57 (nineteen years ago)

But what about that scene where all the girls were discussing whether or not Mr Dunne was married -- they were all like "Who would marry HIM?" because he's just not their type. Dude couldn't even comb his hair before school. He didn't seem like the kind of guy Drey or any of her friends would find remotely attractive.

I found myself wondering whether or not he smelled bad. I bet he did. What kind of girl likes a rank teacher, regardless of his sleepy eyes?

― The Milkmaid (82375538-A) (The Milkmaid), Monday, 2 October 2006 19:02 (nineteen years ago)

(I'm sort of kidding, because there are plenty of people who -- I'm sure -- would find him irresistible, but Drey and her friends are not likely to be among them...are they?!?!?)

― The Milkmaid (82375538-A) (The Milkmaid), Monday, 2 October 2006 19:03 (nineteen years ago)

Oh Morbius, you're so jaded, I mean, sophisticated. I thought the movie was uncommonly subtle, actually, but your and my regular viewing fare are v different.

I wouldn't jump to crush assumption, either; I think it was more of the ol' "floating log in the sea of life" connection.

― Laurel (Laurel), Monday, 2 October 2006 19:11 (nineteen years ago)

I wondered why no one asked why he lived in such a shitpit.

Did he? I assumed this was a normal Brooklyn apartment for someone on a public schoolteacher's salary, no?

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 2 October 2006 20:56 (nineteen years ago)

I thought the movie was great, btw. Morbs had to have at least liked the Broken Social Scene soundtrack, right? ;-)

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 2 October 2006 20:58 (nineteen years ago)

You forget I hate music, ie, I didn't know it was all them til the end credits. Just cuz they're one of my favorite recent bands (ie, I play their albums 2 or 3x before filing them) doesn't mean I know what they sound like. (I really hate music.)

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 3 October 2006 13:11 (nineteen years ago)

I thought it was a totally reasonable apartment -- not a NICE one, but not unreasonable. HEY, AT LEAST HE LIVED ALONE (sore spot).

― Laurel (Laurel), Tuesday, 3 October 2006 13:13 (nineteen years ago)

I laughed out loud when he emerged from his bed with a WBAI t-shirt on.

― Edward Bordas (edb), Tuesday, 3 October 2006 16:05 (nineteen years ago)

five months pass...

this was okay. i watched it just after seeing Sherrybaby (fun weekend of films) and it's better than that, in some ways, and worse in others. I did feel the script kind of fell apart; I don't know, it bugged me that there was no resolution at the end of this. I certainly didn't know if things would get better or worse, which made me wonder why i'd bothered with the previous two hours.

― akm, Sunday, 1 April 2007 14:28 (eighteen years ago)

Quite dull. On the evidence of this and Sherrybaby I worry about whether any bright young Sundance/film school grads can record their experiences with the "underprivileged" without turning them into drug dealers and AA members.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Sunday, 1 April 2007 14:54 (eighteen years ago)

one year passes...

I wondered why no one asked why he lived in such a shitpit.

1 Very little people visited his appartment. On the whole they were mostly coked out of their brain so I doubt they were interested in his flat.
2 A teacher with a drug habbit isn't able to afford lots of nice furniture.

The story wasn't that "original" but I really loved the approach. As opposed to The Brave One which is also shot in a dreamy way but sucked donkey poopoo (except Terrence Howard)

― stevienixed, Sunday, 18 May 2008 08:14 (seventeen years ago)

i really loved this. i thought the dénouement was contrived and it kind of made me groan a little but i can forgive a film anything when it has acting of that caliber. gosling is incredibly charismatic.

― jed_, Sunday, 18 May 2008 11:06 (seventeen years ago)

three years pass...

Rather liked this. It was almost a little too neat but the acting made it less so, especially gosling who I thought was impressively good.

Btw I thought it was completely obv that she had a crush on him, so dont know what people are on about up thread. Do agree that the family scene was hamfisted -- they seem nice but they drink too much! Do you see? Duality!

― didn't even have to use my akai (Hurting 2), Sunday, 17 July 2011 05:30 (fourteen years ago)

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