Half Nelson

Half Nelson (2006) is an indie drama starring Ryan Gosling that you can watch online on iFILM. It is the story of a teacher who inspires his students by day and comes apart by night.

Dan Dunne teaches history at a struggling Brooklyn middle school and genuinely cares about his kids. Off the clock, though, he lives a second life of addiction he hides from everyone. When one of his students, Drey, accidentally discovers his secret, an uneasy and fragile bond forms between them, one that could rescue them both or fall apart. Anthony Mackie appears as a neighborhood dealer pulling Drey the other way.

Director Ryan Fleck keeps the film small and unsentimental, with no tidy answers, and Gosling earned an Academy Award nomination for the role. An honest portrait of a man telling others to hold on while he is the one slipping. Stream Half Nelson (2006) online on iFILM.