Every now and then a film comes along that is so dominated by a performance that it becomes difficult to react to it in any other terms. Ryan Gosling received an Oscar nomination for his work in Half Nelson as Dan, an idealistic young teacher who also happens to have a life-controlling crack dependency. It's a stunning, completely un-mannered turn, full of subtle body language and despairing eyes, although it's far from the only reason to see this outstanding drama. It's driven by Dan's friendship with one of his students (the equally excellent Epps), the only element of his life that gives him any purpose or direction, as he tries to protect her from the dangerous forces in her world, while she, in turn, shows him that he's capable of extracting himself from his seemingly inescapable stranglehold - see what they did with the title? [Paul Greenwood]
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