Half Nelson

103 minutes • 2006 • 7.2

Dan Dunne is a young teacher in the big city whose ideals fade and die in the face of everyday realities. Day after day, in the derelict classroom in Brooklyn, he somehow finds energy to inspire his 13 and 14-year-olds to study everything from civil rights to civil war. He rejects a regular curriculum in favor of a more open approach. Dan wants to teach the students to think for themselves.

Dan is brilliant, dynamic and in control of the classroom, but outside the school, he spends time on the edge of the unconscious. His disappointment and discouragement have led to a serious drug problem. He juggles hangovers and homework, but keeps the two sides of his life separate, until one of his problem students, Drey, takes him in the peach when he get's high after school. An unexpected friendship develops between Dan and Drey. Despite the differences in both age and life situation, both are at an important crossroads - and their lives will change depending on what choices they make.