'Half' of My Expectations....

Hollywood has ruined us all. With the rise of the blockbuster, and climax burdened movies and television, story has gotten thrown to the sidelines. Or maybe not thrown to the sidelines but pumped up with steroids at every possible lull that life would normally hand us.

Tonight I went to see the film "Half Nelson," which is being heralded as one of the first "great" movies of 2006. Reviewers always set up an audience for disaster because when someone professes that a movie is great, or horrible for that matter, the expectations are skewed to a point where they are hardly ever fulfilled. We go to the movies to escape from reality for a few dark hours, but more and more I find that if that film isn't tied up with a neat little bow, then people are usually dissatisfied with their escape. I couldn't help but feel this for part of the film tonight. Then I realized I have just been processed to react that way.

A stark and quiet movie about a free base junkies' relationship with his 8th grade student, this film is in most every sense, atypical. To me though, that is what made it the achievement that it is. I sat there waiting for someone to die, or for some divine revelation to come and it never did. This is EXACTLY why I will praise this movie. There were moments where the pacing felt somewhat gelatinous but the peformances by Ryan Gosling and his young costar (who has a face to die for with eyes that pierce the camera at every glance) kept me fascinated throughout. Life never has clean cuts between scenes and in the end the audience will care about the characters more if they are human. These might seem like obvious statements but I think it is something that happens so rarely in movies today.

When I go to see art, whether it is dance, theater or film, I enjoy seeing real relationships that aren't sugar-coated. What I hope to achieve when I work on choreography in the future is not a flashy spectacle but raw emotions and interactions. The scenes between these two actors were exactly that and the movie was textbook proof that there are filmmakers out there who are not afraid to be a little bit different. It achieved all of this without feeling the least bit pretentious or preachy which is so often the case with stories involving drugs and children. Even more astonishing is that it is the filmmakers' first movie.

It's nice to view something that doesn't feel like it just "ends" once the credits start. If I am going to invest in two hours in a theater it's nice to feel that at the end of that time, I have just been able to view a life that is still existing. My investment seems satisfactory when I am prompted to think after the movie. It's not a perfect film but it definitely beat "Another Gay Movie," which I went to see earlier this week. DON'T. EVEN. ASK.
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