Half Nelson
Realism, as the name implies, is a concept that deals with reality, or the actuality of something. In film, the realism as a style does not imply that what is going on in the film is true to real life, but more that the techniques used while filming made it seem real. Documentary films are the closest to a truly realistic depiction of life, with actual people and events, however these are not the only films that deal with realism. In Ryan Fleck’s film, Half Nelson (Ryan Fleck, USA, 2006), a realist style is used as a means of portraying the struggles of drug abuse, the demise of idealism as a lifestyle, and the perception of hopelessness for life in general. All three of which are themes evident throughout the movie and can be represented through realist styles. Long takes, mainly long and medium shots, use of contemporary, true to life subjects, vernacular dialogue and other techniques help to portray the indication of realism as a style throughout the film. Half Nelson is about an eighth grade history teacher named Dan Dunne, played by Ryan Gosling, who works at a poor, inner city school wanting to connect with his students on an intellectual level. His weakness is his cocaine addiction and perhaps alcoholism, frequently spending late nights at bars and motel rooms with many different women. Drug abuse is frequent throughout the film, showing many scenes with drug use in their entirety. When one of his students, Drey (Shareeka Epps), walks in on him in the locker room moments after smoking crack, with the vile still in hand, the confrontation is illustrious. With much focus on their facial expressions using close up shots and an unsteady camera, the discomfort shown by Dunne is incredibly obvious as well as the uncertainty revealed by Drey. Realist style is evident here because of the intensity of the scene: As Giannetti and Leach claim, when the scenes are powerful, intense, or vivid they seem real, whether or not they have been fabricated. Furthermore, they
Cited: Armes, Roy. (1971). Patterns of Realism. London England: The Tantivy Press. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Vol. 1 Issue 1. Random House Inc. (2006) March 2007 < http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/idealism> Giannetti, Louis and Jim Leach. Understanding Movies. Toronto: Prentice-Hall Inc, 2002. Grant, Barry K. “Independent Film-Road Movies”. Schirmer Encylopedia of Film. Toronto: Thomson Gale, 2007. Wright, J.D. “Drug Abuse: A Health Education Approach”. Health Education Journal 1 1969; Vol. 28: pp171-181 Mar. 2007 <http://online.sagepub.com/cgi/searchresults>