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"FacebookPinterest\n\n It's 2006: Dubya has two years left in office. The radio blares Gnarls Barkley's \"Crazy\" like it's culled from God's personal songbook. Knowing the farm where your pork belly comes from seems like a minor miracle. And a young actor named Ryan Gosling, who you know only from that sap-fest The Notebook, during which your girlfriend continuously sobbed into your shirt, is starring in a new movie called Half Nelson.\n\n Sure, he was good as a Jewish neo-Nazi in that movie The Believer, but you liked that one the first time you saw it when it was called American History X. Rumor has it that he kills it in this new movie. You throw caution to the wind and see it. Sure enough, his performance blows you away.\n\n Half Nelson was the moment many of us realized that a major talent had arrived on the scene. This man had the chiseled looks, the sensitivity devoid of preciousness, and the depth of performance evocative of a young Paul Newman. And your girlfriend was already a committed fan.\n\n In the film, Gosling plays a Brooklyn middle school teacher strapped with a crippling addiction to cocaine. One day a student from a troubled family, played by Shareeka Epps, catches Gosling hitting a crack pipe in the women's bathroom at school. She comforts him rather than tattles, and the two develop a tenuous friendship. As they grow closer, Gosling sinks deeper into his vice.\n\n Sound a bit like Dangerous Minds in reverse? While many movies in the savior-of the-inner-city-school genre (Stand and Deliver and Lean on Me included) are over-wrought and comically reductive, Half Nelson succeeds because of its subtlety and ambiguity. Why is Gosling so mired in addiction? We learn that his family dynamic is rocky at best, and that his ex-girlfriend once used but is now clean. But the roots of his use are never explained. And further: Will he kick the habit? The answer is not given, only implied.\n\n These days, of course, we love Gosling. And he's finally achieved the critical and commercial fame he's long deserved. As we mentioned in last week's post, Drive comes out this fall and we can obsess over him once more. Watch Half Nelson and discover where our bromance began.\n\n Other Recommendations: \n\n 1. Network__ (Netflix)\n\n It's Friday. You're mad as hell and you're not gonna take it anymore. If you haven't seen this film by Sidney Lumet, which uses the problems of a TV network to lay out the much deeper societal issues of 1970s America, drop everything immediately and watch it.\n\n 2. Super Fly (Netflix)\n\n A Blaxploitation flick whose protagonist's name is awesomely Youngblood Priest, this film is perhaps best remembered for the stunning and badass soundtrack by Curtis Mayfield.\n\n 3. Go__ (Crackle)\n\n Some may wish to forget pop culture from the late '90s, but this druggy, funny thriller is worth revisiting. Please forgive the soundtrack, which includes Fatboy Slim and Eagle-Eye Cherry.\n\n 4. Cop Land (Netflix)\n\n An irresistible line-up that includes Stallone, De Niro, Keitel and Liotta, this overlooked cop drama is as thoughtful as it is entertaining.\n\n 5. Pineapple Express__ (Crackle)\n\n An attempt at an action stoner comedy that mostly succeeds due to the pairing of Seth Rogen and James Franco. Plus, a genius turn by Danny McBride."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.gq.com/story/stream-this-half-nelson>