Oracle Online

For our protagonist, each day is a slow slide down, his life decadent and ennui so painful and apparent that one almost empathizes with Mr. Dunne despite his terrible and destructive addiction. For all his faults and failure to connect with anyone on a personal level, Dan is someone with commemorative ideals that have been slowly wasted and whittled away, and watching him slowly slump back into his drug addled daze is terrifying. In fact, this is so present, not only because the Oscar-worthy, subdued acting unnerves one to the core, but the unease of the constantly shaking and shifting camera makes the tension and tenuous relationships of the characters palpable. When Drey (Shareeka Epps), a 13-year-old girl with a brother who is incarcerated for drug dealing, encounters Mr. Dunne burnt out on the bathroom floor and cares for him while remaining completely unfazed, the sense of these characters’ shared isolation is beautifully displayed.

While in many regards this movie could be seen as the coming-of-age story of a young girl trapped in a social station she might never break free of, or a sort of sappy friendship moviečthe elements of loneliness quickly dissolve any of these notions. Instead, it’s in spite of their lack of ability to easily connect that their desperate closeness is so moving. In a moment where Mr. Dunne goes to speak to Frank (Anthony Mackie), the local dealer, and yells at him to leave little Drey alone, he is quickly placated with an offer of nose candy. This image moves the viewer to both hope and despair of immeasurable proportions.

In closing, though the movie always teeters on the edge of unsalvageable melancholy with its precise lighter moments and never even moderately out-of-place jokes, the characters remain human and disturbingly believable. Drey is a product of her environment and is justifiably hardened while Frank, a drug dealer and user, is not a completely evil character but far too self-centered to consider doing anything better than to look out for himself.

As for Mr. Dunne, a well-meaning base head may move hearts, but he brings new attention to the expression that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

So come Friday night, make your way out to the Lagoon Theater in Uptown and catch Half Nelson as soon as you can. It’s sure to etch a place in the memory of anyone who sees it.