HALF NELSON [2006] review

October 22, 2006 · Print This Article

Mr. Dunn, a young, hipster 8th grade history teacher has great ideals and a liberal upbringing, so why is he a “basehead?” HALF NELSON didn’t explain that to me at all, but it didn’t stop me from having an immediate emotional connection with the movie. A very low budget independent film set in an inner city New York school follows the daily process of Dunn, which seems to be wake up grudgingly, feed his cat (if he remembers), drag his carcass into the classroom, then somehow talk passionately about history, change and dialectics. He makes no attempt to put on a professional facade for his students, and I think that let’s them relate to him.

One student in particular, Dre, a 13 year old girl, seems to need a friend just as bad Dunn needs one too. Dre is black, Dunn is white. Neither seem to fit in so well with their peers. So a semi-uneasy friendship builds throughout the movie, despite early on Dre finding out her teacher smokes crack. I think this someone gives him credit in her eyes, making it easier for her to befriend him, as her own brother is locked up for some unspecified drug related crime. Making it all the more peculiar is a family friend of Dre is Dunn’s drug supplier!

Dunn doesn’t want Dre to fall victim to the Game, but his words have little weight since he’s a user. But, it seems there is no need to worry about her as she seems to know how to save them both. I was never fearful of an ill ending, but it still didn’t lesson the impact of the final shot of the movie. I still smiled and felt glad that they had each other as friends.

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