"Smart, moving and politically engaged HALF NELSON is one of the most exciting American films of recent years. Outstanding performances from the cast, including an Oscar-nominated Ryan Gosling (Fracture , The Notebook, The Believer), Independent Spirit Award winner Shareeka Epps and Anthony Mackie (8 Mile, Million Dollar Baby), with an original score that features Canadian rock group Broken Social Scene, enable director Ryan Fleck to weave together a moving story of redemption in an unforgiving world. Dan Dunne (Gosling) is an inner city high school teacher. Dynamic and inspirational in the classroom, he spends his time outside of school on the edge of consciousness. His personal disappointments and disillusionment have led to a serious drug habit. Dan juggles his hangovers and his homework, keeping his lives separated, until one of his students, Drey (Shareeka Epps), catches him getting high after school. It is from this pivotal moment that director Ryan Fleck builds a tentative friendship between these two unlikely allies, creating one of the years most arresting films in the process."