From what I understand, it’s pretty hard work being a teacher, and, if you believe what you see in the movies, which I obviously do, sometimes it takes more than a summer vacation to get you through. Far more.
“Half-Nelson” earned star Ryan Gosling a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his role as a dynamic teacher who really, truly talks to his kids and tries to understand them- and really, truly has a little bit of a crack problem. His scenes in the classroom are exciting; you see him relating to the kids and this shows us how much he really cares and how much the job means to him.
That is what puts so much at stake when you see him struggle with his drug addiction. A rehab dropout, he thinks he can handle his habit and still accomplish the worthy goals he has. The best scene in the movie is when he has dinner with his friendly, liberal parents who are completely drunk on wine by the end of the evening. This masterful scene shows us how he got where he is, and why this life seems reasonable to him.
When he becomes friends with one of his eighth grade students, the costs of his actions begin to trouble him. Smart and straight laced, Drey (a terrific actress named Shareeka Epps) has a brother in jail for selling drugs, and the dealer for whom he took the fall is now pursuing her. Her mother is always working and her father is gone, and you can see how the friendly, generous dealer fills a void in her precarious life. The way the terrible things seem reasonable is where this film derives its strength.
Her teacher recognizes the guy and his motives and, of course, we know why. The repercussions of his drug use are not lost on Gosling, who thinks and talks about race, racism and class. This is a truly complex movie about problems without easy answers and Gosling is mesmerizing as a smart guy who cannot manage his own ideals.
Hopeful enough to be satisfying, but grim enough to be realistic, “Half Nelson” is amazingly intelligent, and the performances ring true throughout. Totally free of melodrama yet deeply, wrenchingly dramatic, I cannot recommend this highly enough.
“Half Nelson” is currently available to rent.
Since it stars Judi Dench, I cannot claim that “Notes on a Scandal” is totally free of melodrama, but it is an exciting, unusual movie with the difficult problem of having essentially no one to root for. It does feature, however, one of my favorite devices from page or screen, the unreliable narrator.
Dench plays a formidable spinster who teaches at a public school and becomes a devoted friend, mentor and confidante to beautiful newbie Sheba (Cate Blanchett.) Through the narration of her daily journal, in which no person is spared her sharp eyes and tongue, we see her feelings for Sheba deepen, and as her version of events stray further from ours, things get pretty interesting.
Overwhelmed by a job she thought she, as a wealthy, intelligent woman, could do easily, Sheba finds her feelings of entitlement extend to having a love affair with a 15-year-old boy. While you would think the drama in the film concerns the fallout over that situation, it is the relationship between Dench and Blanchett’s characters that is truly disturbing and fascinating. These are unexpected, unappealing people for actresses to choose to portray, and the result is a weird thriller full of indigestible but compelling motives and emotions.
“Notes on a Scandal” is currently available to rent.
Local films abound
The local film bonanza continues Saturday, May 19th at Satori on Old Shell Road with a screening of Mobilian David Lay’s experimental science fiction film “World Control!” Shot in Mobile, this 60-minute black and white film is set against the backdrop of the Cuban Missile Crisis and concerns the intertwined stories of one family as the father builds a robot, the mother meets the man of her dreams, and their little boy plays war. The filmmaker will be on hand to answer questions and discuss future project
Contact Asia Frey at afrey@lagniappemobile.com.
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