--- title: "Half Nelson: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/half-nelson/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/half-nelson" critics_score: 77 critics_reviews: 11 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Half Nelson (2006): what the critics said Critics' score 77 from 11 reviews: 10 positive, 0 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics respond warmly to Half Nelson, with praise centred on Ryan Gosling’s restrained performance as a drug-dependent teacher and Shareeka Epps’s work as his pupil. The reviews repeatedly single out their credible, wary friendship and the film’s refusal to turn it into a conventional inspirational-teacher story. Its quiet direction and sympathetic treatment of flawed people are widely seen as strengths, allowing the drama to move audiences without relying on sentimentality or big confrontations. The disagreements concern how much that restraint achieves, and how convincingly the personal story connects with wider politics. The New York Times welcomes the film’s political consciousness, while The Guardian finds its social implications uncertain and its narrative thin. The Financial Times is a sharper dissenter, finding the lack of showmanship dull despite the realism and absence of sentimentality; most critics find considerably more emotional force in the same low-key approach. ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 25 August 2006. The critic calls the film essential viewing for its assurance, restraint, and psychological acuity, noting it approaches familiar themes in a compelling new way. It singles out the subtlety in writing, directing, and acting, particularly Gosling’s commanding performance and the film’s care for its characters and fragile friendships. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-aug-25-et-nelson25-story.html) ## The AV Club — Scott Tobias Rating A-. 9 August 2006. The film succeeds by underplaying its potentially sentimental premise of a crack-addicted teacher, avoiding easy redemption and histrionics through low-key drama and subtle performances. Gosling's nuanced portrayal of inner conflict and the earned, touching denouement are highlighted as strengths. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/half-nelson-1798201932) ## The New York Times — Manohla Dargis Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 11 August 2006. The critic hails the film as a rare American fiction work that openly embraces political consciousness as a moral imperative. It singles out the unusually nuanced interracial relationship between the teacher and student, along with the lead performances and everyday texture. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/11/movies/in-half-nelson-a-student-knows-a-teachers-secret.html) ## The Times — Cosmo Landesman Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 22 April 2007. The film is subtle, fresh and beautifully sad, utterly devoid of sentimentality or big dramatic scenes, and exerts a powerful hold through its portrayal of an unlikely friendship between a messed-up teacher and his pupil. Ryan Gosling gives one of the outstanding performances of the decade. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/half-nelson-the-sunday-times-review-n8687bp6z88) ## Time Out — Ben Walters Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 27 October 2006. The film offers a refreshingly uningratiating, nuanced acknowledgment of bad in good and good in bad, with a complex balancing act of power and sympathy. Both Gosling and Epps are terrific in demanding empathy without reassuring paths to salvation. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/half-nelson-1) ## Variety — Dennis Harvey Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 24 January 2006. Festival review. The critic praises the terrific performance by Ryan Gosling as the chief reason to embrace the film and notes its sympathetic but toughly observed approach that avoids melodrama. It singles out the credible rapport between the teacher and student as well as the low-key drama that builds to a powerful impact. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2006/film/awards/half-nelson-1200519077/) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 24 February 2007. The tired clichés of the inspirational teacher/pupil relationship are turned on their head, offering a haunting snapshot of an unlikely friendship between two wary individuals. Exceptional performances from Ryan Gosling and Shareeka Epps lend raw integrity. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/half-nelson/4031150.article) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 20 April 2007. The film offers an enjoyable and impressive central character in the drug-addicted teacher played by Ryan Gosling, with strong naturalistic direction and performances that avoid inspirational-teacher clichés. However, it lacks narrative depth and grapples uncertainly with larger social and political implications. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/apr/20/drama2) ## Financial Times — Nigel Andrews Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 18 April 2007. Half Nelson is an energy-saving bulb by comparison to more energetic films, dimmer and duller but with greater planetary enlightenment, featuring street-level realism and no sentimentality in its redemptive buddy story. Fleck's artistic integrity results in a lack of showmanship that makes the film dull. [Read the review](https://www.ft.com/content/5db5a80c-edb8-11db-8584-000b5df10621) ## Empire — Angie Errigo 30 March 2007. The critic praises the film's originality in sidestepping clichés of inspirational-teacher and drug-dependency dramas, calling it a moving, realistic, and uplifting work with strong performances, especially Ryan Gosling's nuanced lead turn. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/half-nelson-review/) ## Evening Standard 10 April 2012. The critic lauds the authentic, underplayed performances by Ryan Gosling and Shareeka Epps as the standout elements in this slice-of-life drama about a drug-addicted teacher and his student, while noting the polemic elements and Civil Rights interludes as its weakest aspect. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/come-on-teach-school-me-7394496.html) ## Sight and Sound — Ryan Gilbey 1 April 2007. The film fuses gritty US indie spirit with inspirational movie tropes in an unusual way, offering a nuanced take on opposing forces without easy resolutions. Exceptional performances from Ryan Gosling and Shareeka Epps are singled out for praise. [Read the review](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/3780) ## Slant Magazine — Nick Schager 9 March 2006. The critic finds the film a nuanced but ultimately lightweight Sundance-style character study that fails to meaningfully connect its personal story to broader historical and social themes. Gosling's subtle performance and the restrained direction are praised, but the redemption arc and underdeveloped commentary are criticized. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/half-nelson/) ## Total Film 20 April 2007. The review hails it as the first great film of 2007, a riveting close-up character study of addiction and connection that showcases Gosling's naturalistic, subtle performance as a teacher in crisis and the strong supporting work by Shareeka Epps. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/half-nelson-review/) ## The Skinny — Paul Greenwood Rating ★★★★. 8 October 2007. The critic finds the film dominated by Ryan Gosling's stunning, Oscar-nominated performance as a crack-dependent teacher. The central friendship with a student is singled out as the element that gives the drama its purpose and emotional core. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/dvd-reviews/half-nelson) ## Eye for Film — Darren Amner Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 19 October 2006. The film is a believable, smart and moving character study of a troubled teacher and his student. It avoids inspirational drama clichés for a realistic, fresh take, with standout performances from Ryan Gosling and Shareeka Epps. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/half-nelson-film-review-by-darren-amner) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/half-nelson.md