High school teacher Dan (Ryan Gosling) and quiet teenager Drey (Shareeka Epps) are two lonely souls who wander the planet looking to attach some semblance of meaning to their chaotic lives. Dan teaches Drey in a dilapidated school in Brooklyn, New York. Their relationship is unremarkable until Drey discovers Dan collapsed and clutching a crack pipe in a grimy toilet cubicle in the high school gym. It is from this pivotal moment that director Ryan Fleck builds a tentative friendship between these two unlikely allies, creating one of 2006's most arresting films in the process.

Carefully steering his film away from any overtly sentimental material, Fleck and co-writer Anna Boden create a gritty, powerful narrative that feels painfully real as it flickers into life. Very little back-story to either of Fleck and Boden's central protagonists is revealed, forcing the audience to draw its own conclusions as to what personal hells Dan or Drey may have emerged from. Dan's addiction steadily worsens as the movie progresses, and Gosling portrays his drug-addled life in the saddest way possible. Dan is a likeable character with a clear affection for the kids he teaches, and it's distressing to watch him losing his grip on reality. Relief comes only intermittently as Drey's presence in Dan's life momentarily pulls him out of his slumber, while some well-timed jokes sprinkled liberally throughout the dialogue, and a few direct-to-camera monologues from Dan's students, prevent HALF NELSON from completely toppling into the abyss. Supporting roles come in the shape of Dan's ex-girlfriend Rachel (SIX FEET UNDER's Tina Holmes), who hints at a joint addiction they once endured, and Frank (Anthony Mackie), a local drug dealer and acquaintance of Drey's incarcerated brother who tries to care for her. Together the cast, crew, and writing team construct a powerful film about loneliness, addiction, and friendship that is likely to etch itself deeply into the memories of anyone who sees it. In particular, Gosling and newcomer Epps are sensational in their parts, giving career-defining performances that very few actors could ever hope to improve upon.

Theatrical Release: August 11, 2006

DVD Features:

Region 1
Keep Case
Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.78
Audio:
Dolby Digital Surround Sound 5.1 - English
Subtitles - English, Spanish - Optional
Closed Captioned - English - Optional
Additional Release Material:
Alternate Scenes - Deleted and Extended Scenes
Audio Commentaries - Filmmakers
Music Videos - Rhymefest - "Wanted"
Outtakes

Ryan Gosling: Actor, HALF NELSON, THE NOTEBOOK
Shareeka Epps: Actor, HALF NELSON (2006)
Anthony Mackie: Actor, SHE HATE ME (2004)
Tina Holmes: ACTRESS; "Edge of Seventeen"
Christopher Williamson: Actor
Nicole Vicius: Actor, LAST DAYS (2005)

Ryan Fleck: Filmmaker, HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN?

Anna Boden: Filmmaker, HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN?

Anna Boden: Filmmaker, HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN?
Ryan Fleck: Filmmaker, HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN?

 Broken Social Scene: Music, HALF NELSON (2006)

Anna Boden: Filmmaker, HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN?

"HALF NELSON offers an opportunity to marvel, once again, at the dazzling talent of Ryan Gosling for playing young men as believable as they are psychologically trip-wired." -- Grade: A
Included in Entertainment Weekly's "Top 10 Films Of The Year" -- "[A] sad/hopeful, hauntingly open-ended study in the rise and fall of middle-class social idealism."
Ranked #7 in Film Comment's "20 Best Films Of 2006."
3.5 stars out of 4 -- "[T]he movie skillfully avoids sentimental traps to become one of last year's significant sleepers."
5 stars out of 5 -- "[A] masterclass in screen acting....The kind of story that steals into your bones and echoes long after the lights come up..."
"[T]he newcomer Shareeka Epps displays a poise and stillness as Drey that make possible Gosling's more free-falling moments."