Movie

Half Nelson

2006 · 107 min

A quiet, raw character study that immerses you in its gritty realism and leaves you with a lingering sense of fragile hope.

Directed by: Ryan Fleck
Genres: Drama
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Shareeka Epps, Anthony Mackie

Tagline: Secrets don't let go.
Overview: Despite his dedication to the junior-high students who fill his classroom, idealistic teacher Dan Dunne leads a secret life of addiction that the majority of his students will never know. But things change when a troubled student Drey makes a startling discovery of his secret life, causing a tenuous bond between the two that could either end disastrously or provide a catalyst of hope.

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Directed by: Ryan Fleck
Genres: Drama
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Shareeka Epps, Anthony Mackie

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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone: melancholicstrength 3 of 3
tensestrength 2 of 3
earneststrength 2 of 3
darkstrength 2 of 3
Pacing: slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: addiction
isolation
friendship
class
redemption
Places: big city
school
Era: contemporary
Audience: adult
Form: nonlinear
Content intensity: Gore none
Language strong
Violence mild
Sex mild

All scales, 0 to 10

Scales, 0 to 10
Scale	Value	0 to 10
Action	1
Horror	1
Humour	3
Realism	9
Romance	2
Tension	6
Darkness	7
Complexity	6
Emotional weight	8

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Details

Genres: drama
Directed by: Ryan Fleck
Written by: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Shareeka Epps, Anthony Mackie, Jeff Lima, Monique Gabriela Curnen, Tina Holmes, Nathan Corbett, Tyra Kwao-Vovo
Music: Kevin Drew
Cinematography: Andrij Parekh
Runtime: 107 min
Country: United States of America
Languages: English

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Half Nelson

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