After showing the world his critically acclaimed Hale County This Morning, This Evening in 2018, director RaMell Ross now follows up his evocative, haunting, and highly personal documentary with an equally thought-provoking feature. His Nickel Boys, an adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, is a transportive, intense portrayal of cruel abuse, racism, and the historical implications for people.
Like Whitehead’s novel, the feature takes place between the 1950s and the early 2000s. In a stirring and bold way, we follow Elwood Curtis (Ethan Herisse) from his early life to his adolescence. Throughout his life, he had to deal with racism, lack of freedom, and the fight for Civil Rights, which all left a profound impact on him.
While those devastating events and impacts are key in this movie, the feature starts in a much warmer and more charming way. Abuse and a rough, oppressive regime will be coming up for Elwood, but just not yet. At first, Ross establishes Elwood’s childhood, his loving and warm home in Tallahassee, Florida, and his strong bond with his nana Hattie (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor). However, it doesn’t take long before his feature takes a much darker and stirring turn. When Elwood finds himself at the ‘wrong place, wrong time’, he’s sent to Nickel Academy. In this reformatory, he has to go through four Draconian stages of behavioural reform to leave the academy. Elwood soon realizes that he might be unable to regain his freedom because of the school’s abuse, torture, murder, and, of course, racism.
Until this point in the feature, you have witnessed Elwood’s distressing life from his first-person point-of-view shot. This way of shooting the scenes allows the audience to immerse themselves in the era in which the movie takes place and in Elwood’s grim and dark world. On top of that, it gives Herisse (When They See Us) the chance to truly shine. He beautifully captures Elwood’s optimistic, thoughtful, and compassionate outlook on life despite his character going through ruthless times. However, when Elwood enters Nickel Academy and meets fellow academy member and student Turner (Brandon Wilson), the gorgeous visual storytelling from the filmmaker and cinematographer Jomo Fray (Port Authority, Clodagh) comes to life in a different way.
The director now switches between Turner and Elwood’s points of view, genuinely allowing the audience to see the harsh reality through more eyes. Sometimes, people see multiple points of view as a gimmick or experiment, but in this feature, they’re an integral part of the story. They take the viewing experience to a more immersive level. The bold and impressionistic storytelling approach – a result of Ross’ tremendous experience in the documentary filmmaking world – sometimes confuses you, but it works most of the time.
As a viewer, you will feel the ambiguous emotions, the grave danger the men face and the harrowing way of living in the academy. The switch of perspective enhances your understanding of who the men truly are. Elwood is the optimist of the two. Martin Luther King Jr’s words spurred him on, and he believes that (Black) men could overcome any injustice or social obstacle with compassion, kindness, and resoluteness. However, his friend’s more realistic vision of the world puts him back with his two feet on the ground. According to Turner, the road to freedom is hard, tough, and, if necessary, violent. Turner’s vision of life not only results in him getting in a lot of trouble but also in a tremendous performance by Wilson (Murmur, The Way Back). He brings Turner’s protective, strong-willed, and kind characteristics beautifully to the forefront.
Using multiple POVs also allows the audience to see the events unfolding through those two different lenses. However, because the movie mainly revolves around the two friends, the other academy members feel like one-dimensional side characters. Ellis-Taylor (King Richard, When They See Us) is the only actor who gets the chance to breathe life into her character, and she does it impeccably. Her Hattie oozes so much warmth, devotion, and fierceness, and the hugging scene she shares with Wilson is the most poignant of the entire feature. A stranger’s hug feels even warmer in times of desperation, pain, and absence.
Nickel Boys delves deep into the harsh reality of Black people and the political and social prejudices they have faced and continue to face. The film’s powerful exploration of racism is both emotionally intense and thought-provoking, shining a light on the extreme challenges Black individuals have had to endure. The exceptional acting and wonderfully crafted visuals create a warm, welcoming, yet uneasy and dark atmosphere, resulting in a film that is both gloomy and eye-opening.
Nickel Boys had its International Premiere in the Special Presentations section at the BFI London Film Festival 2024. The film will debut in theaters in New York on December 13, 2024, courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios. The film will expand to Los Angeles on December 20th with further expansion to follow.
Director: RaMell Ross
Writers: RaMell Ross, Joslyn Barnes
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 98m
While the multiple points of view sometimes confuse you, the stellar lead performances make Nickel Boys intense and eye-opening.
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GVN Rating
Subtitle translator by day. Film journalist by night.
