If you watch movies for strictly entertainment value and need for your movies to reach a conclusion that is clear concise and happy, I suggest staying far far away from this intimate gem of a movie. However, if you want to watch a movie with phenomenal acting, a great score, amazing camera work and allows you to reach your own conclusion about what is going to happen after the movie ends, go out and rent this one! The mesmerizing Ryan Gosling stars as an 8th grade history teacher and girl's basketball coach whose interesting and edgy teaching tactics has allowed him to reach the students in a very real way. He is also a drug addict. Early in the film he sees an old girlfriend while coaching and in order to cope he smokes crack right at the school and as he is laying on the floor a student walks in and finds him. The student is played by Shareeka Epps and that scene is the first off quite a few amazing scenes. Gosling perfectly downplays his addiction, even as he is high and the young Epps proves up to the task as she remains calm and helpful. A very unlikely friendship is born in that moment and it proves to be the moment that really gets the film rolling.
Throughout the movie, Gosling shoots, smokes and snorts all kinds of different drugs, but for the most part it never affects his teaching. The moments in the classroom allow us to see just how good Gosling already is and lets us see just how good he is going to be with each and every film. See, it is easy to see someone physically unravel due to drugs- messed up hair, black circles under the eyes and constantly sweating- but Gosling manages to do more than that. His mannerisms perfectly capture a man whose world is spiraling out of control and he doesn't know what to do. We continue to watch the movie because of him and because of the friendship blossoming between student and teacher. Epps comes from a broken home, whose brother is in jail for dealing drugs and not rolling on his supplier. The supplier, played by a great Anthony Mackie, helps out Epps family and seems likable enough, except that he takes Epps on drug runs with him. We are supposed to probably hate him but Mackie plays him real and not like a stock drug dealing movie character. We can see he does truly care about Epps but the drug world is the only world he knows.
To be honest, plot wise this movie isn't big on it. It is a character study. A study on what happens to a man when he can no longer fool himself into thinking he has his addiction under control. A study on friendship in the most unlikely of places. The movie doesn't treat teenagers as kids but as people. The young girl is capable of fending for herself and being a very Good friend, even when her teacher does not deserve it. It is hard to say I liked the movie, because I am not sure it is the kind of movie you can like. I appreciated it. I appreciated the acting, the writing and everything else in this movie. I was drawn to the characters and to their individual problems, but mostly I was drawn to Ryan Gosling. This kid is only 26 and has racked up very impressive displays of acting and I cannot wait to see what he is going to do next. I also enjoyed that the ending allows each individual to reach his or her own conclusion.
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