Nickel Boys follows a young African-American teen named Elwood Curtis (Ethan Herisse) in 1962 Jim Crow-era Tallahassee, Florida, who is falsely accused by the police of being an accomplice to stealing a car. As a result, he is sent to a segregated reform school called Nickel Academy. While there, he forms a close friendship with a boy named Turner (Brandon Wilson) as they try to survive the abuse by the school and its corrupt administrators. The film is based on the 2019 novel The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead, which in turn was inspired by the historic reform school in Florida called the Dozier School for Boys, which was notorious for its abusive treatment of students.
Documentary filmmaker RaMell Ross, here in his narrative directorial debut, takes a bold creative swing by telling the story from the two protagonists point of view, using the camera as the eyes of the characters, switching between the two. This technique could have easily been perceived as gimmicky, but it proves to be incredibly effective, providing an engaging and unique effect of walking in someone else’s shoes. However, its use is uneven, ranging from engrossing, to ineffective, to downright irksome. Scenes featuring Elwood’s grandmother, Hattie (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor ) were a bit troublesome at times. While Ellis-Taylor provides a wonderful performance, her scenes are by and large performed as monologues, which removes the audience from the narrative a bit. Conversely, while there are definitely moments of greatness from both actors, Herisse and Wilson are robbed of significant opportunities to truly demonstrate their acting skills, as much of their performances are off screen.These are minor criticisms, but ones that stand out in an otherwise stellar film.
Ross and editor Nicholas Monsour (Nope, Us) make bold creative choices in the editing, as well. Authentic archive images and footage of Black life in the 1960s South, as well as the real Florida school that served as Whitehead’s original inspiration, are intercut with events that take place in a variety of time periods. Ross uses heightened sound effects, intense close-ups of things, and memory flashes. The outcome truly resembles a voyage into someone else’s mind. Jomo Fray’s cinematography and Nora Mendis’s production design are also notable, as both are exceptional.
Nickel Boys is bold, inspired and innovative, and while it’s incredibly refreshing to see such originality in a feature film, the results are unfortunately uneven in parts. That said, the film’s subject matter is important as it demonstrates not only historical social injustices, but is a reflection of the social injustices of today. Nickel Boys is a much watch.
Quick Scan
Nickel Boys is inspired and innovative, though its unique approach in storytelling is unfortunately uneven.