The Power Of Second Chances In “Half Nelson”
Ryan Gosling was nominated for an Oscar, but both Gosling and Shareeka Epps deliver strong performances in a very important indie film
Recently, I decided to write about Casey Affleck’s first taste at being nominated for an Academy Award. Although not intending to serialize the piece and write about all the potential nominees’ past Award history, there is another performance that warrants everyone’s attention.
Critics and reviewers are unanimously praising Ryan Gosling’s performance — notably his chemistry with co-star Emma Stone — in La La Land. The musical is certain to win big at this year’s Academy Awards ceremony, as it dominated this year’s Golden Globes. Gosling won a Best Actor — Musical/Comedy at the Golden Globes for La La Land, his first win at a big time award ceremony. His certain nomination for the 2017 Academy Awards would be his second nomination for an Oscar; the first came in 2006 for the independent film Half Nelson.
Gosling entered the acting world as a child star, with roles in Mickey Mouse Club, Goosebumps and Breaker High. In 2004, he starred in The Notebook, a pop culture powerhouse of the 2000s. The film launched his expansive Hollywood career. Yet only two years after his breakout hit, Gosling gave the audiences a painful and honest performance as an inner city middle-school teacher in Half Nelson.
Directed by Ryan Fleck, and written by Anna Boden and Fleck, the film stars Gosling, Anthony Mackie and Shareeka Epps. Dan Dunne (Gosling) is a history teacher at a Brooklyn school. His rebellious teaching style — a more loose, fluid curriculum — makes him a favorite with his students. Besides teaching, Dunne coaches the girls’ basketball team. On top of all that, Dunne is a cocaine abuser. After one game, Drey (Epps) comes across Dunne using cocaine in the locker room. With things bleak at home, Drey and Dunne form a friendship. The film explores the definition of role models and friendship, as well as exploring the importance of having second chances in life.
The most important aspect of the film is the relationship between Dunne and Drey. Both performances are stellar. Gosling gives the character his best acting chops to date. He is charming and friendly to his students — a teacher who cares about the education his students are getting. Yet, he struggles with personal demons. Relationships go horrendous. His drug habit eats him up from outside. Typically, this leads to a person’s life spiraling out of control. Dunne does not allow that. Halfway through the film, he mentions that his students provide him a “focus” — a reason — to try and become a better person. He is not a white middle-class savior for his inner-city students; the roles are reversed in Half Nelson. His students demonstrate high academic achievement and an interest in class. Dunne needs his students to save himself.
Drey is one of those students. Portrayed by Shareeka Epps, who brings maturity to the role of a 13 year-old, Drey is looking for that one role model. Her mother (Karen Chilton) is rarely home — working as an EMT. Her older brother is in prison and her father is absent. The only “fatherly” figures in her life are Frank (Anthony Mackie) — a neighborhood drug dealer — and Dunne. When Drey finds Dunne smoking crack, she looks past this mistake, as she knows the good intentions Dunne usually possess. She wants Dunne’s friendship — someone to care about who she is or what she does. For most of the film, Dunne does so. Due to his personal problems Dunne fails. He tells Drey to hang up with people her own age. This enrages her. She elects to “work” for Frank, running drugs for him.
There is a scene near the beginning of the film where the students are taking a test. One of them decides he needs help, peering over the shoulder the girl in front of him. Dunne sees. He looks at the student as if saying “I see you”, where the student’s face is racked with guilt. He looks back down at his own test. Moments later, the student tries again. “Unbelievable. What are you doing?” Dunne asks the student. He sends the student to a desk away from the others. “Second chances are rare, man,” Dunne tells him, “You ought to take better advantages of them.” The scene is the thesis of the film. The student is probably a nice kid with good intentions; he just got caught making a poor mistake. Dunne and Drey are thoughtful and nice, but both get caught up making mistakes. When Drey begins running drugs for Frank, she ultimately makes a run to Dunne. The two awkwardly acknowledge one another, internally realizing that their lifestyles are mistakes. They recognize a need for change. Sometimes all someone needs is to point out their mistake and give them that second chance.
In the end, their drug rendezvous is a wake-up call. Drey refuses a ride home school from Frank, electing to visit Dunne. When she reaches his home, Dan cleans himself up and returns to his friendly ways with Drey. Nobody is perfect in this world, but that does not mean those imperfections defy who you are. One works on bettering themselves, working on being the best iteration of themselves. Sometimes that motivation comes from your student; sometimes it comes from your teacher.
Ryan Gosling lost to Forest Whitaker at the 2006 Academy Awards, who also beat out Will Smith, Leonardo DiCaprio and Peter O’Toole. Already with a performance for the ages in Half Nelson, Gosling was in a group of brilliant actors. His successes only continued from there, but reflecting on past brilliance only adds context and texture to Gosling’s, already, storied career.
