Ryan Gosling ("Half-Nelson," "Blue Valentine"), who can act the pants offa your average Hollywood act-or, stars in a dark noir thriller of a movie called "Drive," based on a novel by James Sallis that is supposedly un-put-downable fun page-turny goodness.
So you've got the story.
So you've got the actor.
But about the action?
Who's the director?
Some Danish bloke named Nicolas Winding Refn. He also just so happened to pick up the Best Director award at Cannes this year for this flick.
I think it's gonna sizzle, and be original and, like I said, bad ass. Here's proof:
Showing posts with label Half Nelson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Half Nelson. Show all posts
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Friday, October 23, 2009
Ryan Gosling in "Half Nelson" - This Flick's Smart and It's Got Heart
I used to think I would be an actor until I realized how unrealistic that was, which was when I decided I'd make my millions writing literary fiction. The point, though, 
is that I've acted in a few plays in my time, high school stuff and a bit in uni and then even a play in Japan.
Thus like a fellow whose played a few seasons of somewhat serious softball and so gets how hard it really might be to hit a major league fastball, my acting experience has allowed me to be a mad lover of a great performance on screen (or stage).
And some movies are all about the great performance. "Half Nelson" (2006) is one of those. The teen-aged girl (Shareeka Epps) in it is amazing. The film's lead, Ryan Gosling ("The Notebook," "The Believer"), makes me want to climb up on a stage again. He is sincerity on a big screen (or small). If authenticity is the heart of a certain kind of great acting, Gosling, who isn't yet 30, is all heart. Raw would probably be the best word to describe his performance.
That's all I really want to say about it.
Ok, I'll also say that Gosling plays a junior high school teacher, and you believe him as a teacher (having spent the better part of a decade in some form of a classroom as the one who gets to/has to hold the chalk, I feel like I've got some fair shakes at an assessment of that one), a teacher who has much passion and cares, he cares about his kids. Also, he's a crack addict. You believe that too. So it's not exactly a light movie. But it's a very very good movie.
is that I've acted in a few plays in my time, high school stuff and a bit in uni and then even a play in Japan. Thus like a fellow whose played a few seasons of somewhat serious softball and so gets how hard it really might be to hit a major league fastball, my acting experience has allowed me to be a mad lover of a great performance on screen (or stage).
And some movies are all about the great performance. "Half Nelson" (2006) is one of those. The teen-aged girl (Shareeka Epps) in it is amazing. The film's lead, Ryan Gosling ("The Notebook," "The Believer"), makes me want to climb up on a stage again. He is sincerity on a big screen (or small). If authenticity is the heart of a certain kind of great acting, Gosling, who isn't yet 30, is all heart. Raw would probably be the best word to describe his performance.
That's all I really want to say about it.
Ok, I'll also say that Gosling plays a junior high school teacher, and you believe him as a teacher (having spent the better part of a decade in some form of a classroom as the one who gets to/has to hold the chalk, I feel like I've got some fair shakes at an assessment of that one), a teacher who has much passion and cares, he cares about his kids. Also, he's a crack addict. You believe that too. So it's not exactly a light movie. But it's a very very good movie.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
