Review of Half Nelson (1985) by Mark H — 23 Mar 2009

I can't hate on this movie too much: the directing was strong, the young Ms.Epps did a good job and Ryan Gosling definitely impresses. He really does a great job here. That said, this movie was incredibly tilted towards potraying the downward spiral without really offering much in the way of redemption, comic relief or beauty-through-accompanying cinematography--everything seems a bleak portrait through a hand-held camera. The way it is written has all characters around the star at least being cast through the bleak lens of a professional who likes crack a lot, if not getting sucked into or tainted by his 'activities'. By contrast, I would point to the periodic beauty and endearment of 'Requiem For a Dream' or the everyman accesibility of 'Trees Lounge'.

There are those who would say that cringe-inducing scene after cringe-inducing scene of destructive behaviorare testament to this film's quality, but it really seemed to me like urban-decay-porn that was done really well. I might chalk it all up to the decision to have the main character's shift from powder to rock very early on in the movie, but I just don't know--this movie's a well-done bummer.