SYNOPSIS:
Dan Dunne (Ryan Gosling) is a young inner-city junior
high school teacher whose ideals wither and die in the face
of reality. Day after day in his shabby Brooklyn classroom,
he somehow finds the energy to inspire his 13 and 14-year-olds
to examine everything from civil rights to the Civil War with
a new enthusiasm. Rejecting the standard curriculum in favor
of an edgier approach, Dan teaches his students how change
works – on both a historical and personal scale –
and how to think for themselves.
Though
Dan is brilliant, dynamic, and in control in the classroom,
he spends his time outside school on the edge of consciousness.
His disappointments and disillusionment have led to a serious
drug habit. He juggles his hangovers and his homework, keeping
his lives separated, until one of his troubled students, Drey
(Shareeka Epps), catches him getting high after school.
From
this awkward beginning, Dan and Drey stumble into an unexpected
friendship. Despite the differences in their ages and situations,
they are both at an important intersection. Depending on which
way they turn – and which choices they make –
their lives will change.
MOVIE REVIEW:
The moment this reviewer sees the movie’s protagonist,
Dan Dunne, dragging himself out of bed and going to the bathroom
to wash up for a new day ahead, he feels this strange connection
– well, except that he isn’t as ruggedly attractive
as Ryan Gosling. If this reviewer looked half as good as Gosling
wearing a crumpled shirt and a scruffily knotted tie, he wouldn’t
mind doing away with his usual T-shirt and jeans routine.
But
that’s beside the point, because what will strike the
lonely urbanite is this movie’s honest look at what
marks the ideal ambition we all once had, contrasted with
what eventually happens in reality. And it doesn’t matter
that the movie is set in an inner city located in Brooklyn,
where drugs, racism and violence plaque the people.
Gosling’s
Dunne is a teacher who has ideals of a true education system
where students are supposed to truly understand the importance
of history instead of just memorizing facts and figures. But
alas, in the harsh world, things often do not go your way.
It doesn’t help that Dunne has some of his own wounds
to heal amidst all these, coupled with a serious drug habit
that any educator wouldn’t be proud of. One day, a student
sees him using drugs and a unique friendship develops between
the two.
While
most films of such genre are morally uplifting and hopeful,
this picture directed by Ryan Fleck has a melancholic feel
to it, and engagingly so too. We wee two lonely souls trying
to connect with each other amidst the chaos around them. We
see one lonely man trying to find balance in his life. We
see a young girl trying to understand the state of things
around her. And all these will make you reflect upon how you
have lived your life so far.
Everyone
turns in an honest and affective performance here: From Gosling
Oscar nominated portrayal of a lost educator to Shareeka Epps’s
angst interpretation of a local student and Anthony Mackie’s
showy role of a drug dealer. The camera work may not be the
best cinematography you’ve seen, but the gritty approach
works well for this film. Couple that with some cool tunes
performed by independent group Broken Social Science and you’d
have yourself a captivating drama that’s refreshing
to watch. The 102 minute movie may not change your life drastically,
but as long as it sets you thinking about which direction
you’ll head in life next, it would have done its job.
SPECIAL
FEATURES:
This Code 3 disc contains no special features.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The
visual transfer is somewhat grainy, while the movie is dubbed
in presented in its original English audio track.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD
RATING:
Review by John Li
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