Less Than Half Interesting

Denver is buried under more than a foot of snow tonight -- our first credible snowfall all winter actually. It was a great day to not go outside, so I stayed at home today and watched a bunch of movies. Unfortunately, I can't say that most of them were good movies.

One movie on the "I can't recommend it" list is Half Nelson, a movie which garnered Ryan Gosling an Oscar nomination for Best Actor a couple years back. It's the story of a school teacher in a poor neighborhood, battling a drug addiction.

The problem is, I basically just gave you the entire plot of the movie. There aren't many particulars beyond that premise. (No, he's not named Nelson, and no, he doesn't coach a wrestling team.) It's one of those independent movies that seems less concerned with telling a dramatic story with a beginning, middle, and end as it is seeking to "portray a world." Here's a slice of life of this guy. We'll start on a, say Thursday, and just sort of show you the things that happen to him for a week or two. If it happens that a plot develops, well maybe that's okay too.

If you don't yourself have a drug problem, or haven't dealt with a family member or friend who has one, then the movie probably won't be very relatable to you. Which is sort of the point I think people making these types of movies are after. The unspoken assumption is that people who tend to see these small, word-of-mouth films need an "education" on this sort of existence. Maybe so; I have nothing wrong with a movie that wants to teach (or even preach) a little. But I think it has to tell a story too. And I don't think this one did.

But I will say that, as advertised, Ryan Gosling is very, very good in this movie. He completely embodies the character; he's powerful and believable. And he's also, in my view, about the only thing going for the film. I rate it a D+.