cause being a nazi's just not cool anymore, baby

my favorite movie is Half Nelson, with Ryan Gosling. i've never seen anything else with him in it, but he was phenomenal in this movie. and Shareeka Epps provided one of the best performances i've seen a young actor give.

have you seen this movie? if not, make it your number one priority in life. i'm serious.

nothing really happens in the film, which delights me. it's such a perfect reflection of real life. there's no real climax, there's no real resolution, but there is a tiny glimmer of hope tinged by the knowledge that, realistically, there may be no hope at all. it's bittersweet and slightly awkward and brilliant.

normally, i'm not a big fan of tight closeups or shaky hand-held camera work (which seems to be a stamp of independent film in the past few years), but both of these techniques work wonderfully in this movie. perhaps it's because this movie is really about two characters, and portrays a tight glimpse into both of their lives - even though it really doesn't reveal all that much about them, their pasts, and their futures. just enough.

this is the kind of movie that seems like it was born from a short story - it's sparse in dialogue and in action, but not enough so that it becomes boring.

broken social scene, one of my favorite bands, provides the score. and it's pitch perfect. i couldn't imagine any other music in place of the songs chosen for many of the scenes.

maybe most importantly, this movie raises questions of addiction and of a quiet longing to be somebody you could envision yourself being, but aren't quite there yet. of blurry lines and grey areas we all live through. there's so much emotion in this movie, but it's all beneath the surface.

i think of this movie often. it reminds me of so much; of just getting by. of places i've been and visited, of people in my life. of lonliness and being on the brink of something much larger than yourself and of quiet love, though by no means is this a conventional love story (which is also refreshing).

and this isn't an independent movie that hits you over the head with the fact that it is, in fact, a low budget independent movie. the whole thing is subtle. which i'm pretty sure Philip Seymour Hoffman would appreciate.