We just got done watching Half Nelson. Let me start by saying I can really appreciate the great performances by Ryan Gosling and Shareeka Epps in the movie. I appreciate the fact that Gosling's character is not a stereotypical Christ-figure teacher who has no vices and has come to save the inner-city children from ignorance. I appreciate the writing and the Broken Social Scene soundtrack.

But dear Lord is this movie depressing. Oddly enough, the movie's "Consensus" on Rotten Tomatoes describes it as "inspirational." The movie does start out showing Gosling's Dan Dunne to be an effective, engaging teacher, but it is all downhill from there. The scene where his thirteen-year-old student Drey (Epps) discovers him smoking crack in the locker room bathroom is a punch to the stomach. At one point, Dunne discusses how "God's creation is imperfect" with the class, and it feels like the movie is ramming that idea at my brain the entire time. The writers try to throw the viewer a hopeful bone at the end when Dunne shaves his wild-man beard and shares a corny joke with Drey, but it just isn't enough for me.