6.6
Despite his dedication to the junior-high students who fill his classroom, idealistic teacher Dan Dunne leads a secret life of addiction that the majority of his students will never know. But things change when a troubled student Drey makes a startling discovery of his secret life, causing a tenuous bond between the two that could either end disastrously or provide a catalyst of hope.
Ryan Gosling
Dan Dunne
Shareeka Epps
Drey
Anthony Mackie
Frank
Jeff Lima
Roodly
Monique Gabriela Curnen
Isabel
Tina Holmes
Rachel
Nathan Corbett
Terrance
Tyra Kwao-Vovo
Stacy
Rosemary Ledee
Gina
Tristan Mack Wilds
Jamal
Bryce Silver
Bernard
Kaela C. Pabon
Lena
Erica Rivera
Erika
Stephanie Bast
Vanessa
Eleanor Hutchins
Simone
Sebastian Sozzi
Javier
Karen Chilton
Karen
Starla Benford
Principal Henderson
Denis O'Hare
Jimbo
Deidre Goodwin
Tina
Collins Pennie
Mike
Deborah Rush
Jo Dunne
Jay O. Sanders
Russ Dunne
David Easton
Jeff Dunne
Nicole Vicius
Cindy
Raymond Anthony Thomas
Earle
Ron Cephas Jones
Mr. Dickinson
Christopher Williamson
Charles
Leslie Eva Glaser
Rose
Sharon Washington
Suzanne
Matt Kerr
Mr. Light
Adepero Oduye
Crack Smoker
Thaddeus Daniels
Referee
Susan Kerner
Motel Slow Dancer
Stanton Davis
Trumpet Player
Katie Nehra
Woman with Camera
Steve Kursh
Man on Bed
Director, Writer
Ryan Fleck
Writer
Anna Boden
May 18, 2024
7
Ryan Gosling is on very natural form here as the teacher "Dan" who has a bit of a drug habit after school. He's a good teacher. Well liked. A man who gets results from a class of students who would almost all rather be somewhere else, and he coaches the girls' basketball team too. Luckily for him, it's one of his pupils, "Drey" (Shareeka Epps), that discovers him a bit worse for wear in the school toilet and swiftly a friendship develops. It's one of mutual understanding. His life is a mess and she is having to deal with divorced and largely absent parents. Her brother "Mike" is in jail for drug offences, but quickly we learn that it's "Frank" (Anthony Mackie) who's really the culprit there. He tries to take care of the girl, but when the two men meet it's clear that "Dan" thinks" Frank" should leave her alone; he's a bad influence. Needless to say, there are views taken about the appropriateness of their friendship but somehow that just galvanises them into trying to help each other. For "Dan", to perhaps stop treating the women in his life like dirt; and for "Drey" to have the confidence to grab life by the throat. It's a slowly paced look at human nature this film and there's quite a degree of chemistry between the charismatic Gosling and the Epps. They are walking a tightrope that puts his career at risk and she is at a junction in her life where choices will map her future. Mackie only features sparingly but again, his character is a little more sophisticated than your usual drug dealer. "Frank" does appear to care for his charge and seems prepared to engage with "Dan", up to a point, to help the girl choose a better life. Is there room for optimism or is it all a fait accompli? Plenty of plausible emotions on display here.