Half Nelson
THINKFilm | Release Date: August 11, 2006 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
85
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 31 Critic Reviews
Positive:
30
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Half Nelson offers an opportunity to marvel, once again, at the dazzling talent of Ryan Gosling for playing young men as believable as they are psychologically trip-wired. Read full review
100
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Superb drama from New York-based filmmakers Ryan Flek and Anna Boden. Read full review
100
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
What is different about Half Nelson is the execution, the kind of subtlety in writing, directing and acting (by costars Shareeka Epps and Anthony Mackie as well as Gosling) you seldom see. Read full review
100
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
A dedicated, charismatic, crack-addicted history teacher is the most believable protagonist in an American movie this year. Read full review
91
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Gosling excels at playing contradictory characters like this one, having kick-started his career as a Jewish neo-Nazi in "The Believer," but here, his inner turmoil rarely gets vocalized. It's a remarkably subtle performance. Read full review
91
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
The movie lives in its small details. Read full review
90
Village VoiceRob Nelson
The audacity of making an inner-city drama in which the white-male authority figure is the crackhead finds its equal in Gosling's already legendary performance, a high-wire act that's gutsiest for its unconscionable charm. Read full review
90
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
What makes Half Nelson both an unusual and an exceptional American film, particularly at a time when even films about Sept. 11 are professed to have no politics, is its insistence on political consciousness as a moral imperative. Read full review
90
L.A. WeeklyScott Foundas
At a time when most American movies, studio made or "independent," seem ever more divorced from anything approximating actual life experience, Half Nelson is so sobering and searingly truthful that watching it feels like being tossed from a calm beach into a raging current. Read full review
88
USA TodayClaudia Puig
A compelling drama that establishes Ryan Gosling as one of the finest actors of his generation. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeTy Burr
Gosling may be the soul of Half Nelson, but Epps is the film's heart. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
No halves about it: Half Nelson is a wholly absorbing and delicately shaded portrait of an educator played by Ryan Gosling, a young man harboring an offstage secret. Read full review
83
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
Best where it counts the most - in its recognition of how difficult it will be for Dan and Drey to turn their lives around. Read full review
83
Seattle Post-IntelligencerGianni Truzzi
Just in time for back-to-school, this smart film about a troubled teacher and student upends most movie images, both romantic and negatively stereotyped, of the urban classroom. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
Gosling, who was amazing in "The Believer" but hasn't yet connected substantially with a big audience, continues to impress. Read full review
80
Film ThreatDon R. Lewis
Fleck manages to mix the storylines which include drug abuse, political commentary and making good choices about your life's path flawlessly. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Edelstein
Downbeat as it is, Half Nelson is a genuinely inspirational film--a terrifically compelling character study and a tricky exploration of the links (and busted links) between the personal and the political. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterJames Greenberg
If there was ever any doubt, with Half Nelson, Ryan Gosling establishes himself as a major talent and one of the finest young actors around. Read full review
80
VarietyDennis Harvey
Avoiding rote inspirational notes as well as boyz-in-the-hood violence, scrupulously low-key drama nonetheless builds to a powerful impact. Read full review
80
SlateDana Stevens
It keeps surprising us, mainly by being consistently smarter and sadder than inspirational-teacher movies usually let themselves be. Read full review
80
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
It's a complex and defiant fable of American life run just slightly off the rails, delivering all the impact of "Crash" without the phony-baloney paradoxes or brick-in-the-face message delivery. Read full review
80
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
Nearly every scene rings with its own ragged truth, which becomes increasingly painful as Dan's addiction becomes more unmanageable and as he refuses to confront the untenable politics of his own behavior. Read full review
80
EmpireAngie Errigo
Just wonderful with its offbeat but wholly credible storyline, down-to-earth style and exceptionally fine performances. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Half Nelson, with its bleakly hopeful view of humanity both damned and redeemed – simultaneously – is uncomfortably, almost exactly right. Read full review
75
PremiereKrista Vitola
Nelson works largely because Gosling and Epps work flawlessly together. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
It is not easy to watch, yet beyond the traps that society and the urban culture have set up for Drey and the other kids, and the traps that Dan is falling into on his own, this is ultimately a hopeful story of common humanity. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
You never catch Gosling doing anything out of character. It's the first Oscar-caliber performance I've seen so far this year. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
This is a grown-up film that puts liberalism under the microscope and finds it tired -- not a dirty word, as neo-cons believe, and not a panacea, as sentimentalists wish, but just tired and longing for rejuvenation. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
It's a performance that will make you cringe - with despair, with empathy - as Gosling's Dan takes one self-destructive step after another. Read full review
75
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
The movie is not credible, even in an inner-city setting. At the same time, it's touching. Read full review
50
New York PostKyle Smith
Too bad there is only about half an hour's worth of story here. Mostly, we just watch the teacher get high, and his classroom talks about civil rights are nothing but filler. Read full review
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