Nickel Boys, 2024.
Directed by RaMell Ross.
Starring Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Hamish Linklater, Fred Hechinger, Daveed Diggs, Luke Tennie, Sunny Mabrey, Gralen Bryant Banks, Sara Osi Scott, Rachel Whitman Groves, Escalante Lundy, LeBaron Foster Thornton, Ethan Cole Sharp, Najah Bradley, Mike Harkins, Jimmie Fails, Sam Malone, Taraja Ramsess, Sean Tyrik, Bryant Tardy, Trey Perkins, Robert Aberdeen, Billy Slaughter, Lucy Faust, Tanyell Waivers, and Craig Tate.
SYNOPSIS:
Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Colson Whitehead, Nickel Boys chronicles the powerful friendship between two young African American men navigating the harrowing trials of reform school together in Florida.
There are four ways to survive Nickel Academy (the titular school for youthful reform, operating in 1968 with illegal segregation and a hellish nightmare of emotional and physical abuse for its Black sector): serving the time, having a court case successfully won on one’s behalf, dying, or escaping (which typically leads to death.) Perhaps the first two options don’t seem so bad, but again, this is a torturous, racist, evil school (based on the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys, which remained open from 1900 to 2011, eventually shut down when shocking, horrifying discoveries came to light) that doesn’t play by any fair rules. Neither does the justice system, especially during a time when Jim Crow laws are still in effect.
Adapting the award-winning novel from Colson Whitehead, Academy Award-nominated documentary filmmaker RaMell Ross’s Nickel Boys (co-writing the screenplay alongside Joslyn Barnes) is aware that even if viewers are not familiar with the specific horrors of this particular school, they are accustomed to Black trauma porn and that a different approach is required to tell this inspirational tale of friendship and resiliency between two Black friends, Elwood (Ethan Herisse) and Turner (Brandon Wilson) trying to survive.
The answer comes in the form of a first-person perspective that rarely leaves either of the two boys (meaning that viewers generally only see the character’s face when one is looking at the other) and incorporating documentary-like tidbits into the story that expand on the time and place of the world these harrowing events are happening within, but also allow the film to periodically jump into more modern times (the 2000s), functioning as an excavation of the history unfolding on screen. It’s uniquely devastating, with those modern scenes accompanied by crime scene footage of unmarked graves and queasy music from Scott Alario and Alex Somers, pushing the weight of these atrocities down into the pit of one’s stomach.
There is also a scene during this time (the film plays out in nonlinear fashion, meaning these modern-day scenes typically arrive out of nowhere, yet are seamlessly edited in) where an adult Elwood (Daveed Diggs) reminisces with an old friend (Craig Tate) about their time back at Nickel Academy. Yes, there is a greater understanding of the abuse that took place (which is not to say that we already don’t get the idea, because the worst is strongly implied without lingering on pain and abuse), but as he recounts some of these stories he begins breaking down crying. More to the point, the whole conversation feels like two combat veterans reconnecting and sharing traumatic war stories. It is a devastating speech and not the only one here. As a young Elwood’s loving grandmother, Hattie (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) also delivers a heartbreaking monologue, expressing that she feels like she let her grandson down for not being able to rescue him from this hellhole littered with cruel guards who sometimes won’t let her see him or even give a brief update on his health.
Also, just because there are scenes here involving an adult Elwood does not mean there is no tension. Nickel Academy is packed with Black boys to sympathize with, and not all have a happy ending. Even the modern-day portion does something highly unexpected, capturing the story with a twist that recontextualizes certain aspects. The methodically tight editing from Nicholas Monsour always ensures that a scene goes on for just the right length, conveying the necessary information through captivating visual imagery. It also generally remains clear where we are in the story or which perspective we are in the shoes of.
With that said, this is cinematographer Jomo Fray’s show, handed a seemingly impossible task to make every moment of this first-person perspective come across as cinematic and not a hand-tying gimmick that tells a story through artificial means. Whether it be a shot of an early childhood Elwood looking out at his grandma adorning a Christmas tree with garnish or a slightly older Elwood catching a glimpse of himself on the TV while Martin Luther King delivers a speech, symbolizing a reflection in ideals, this is a visually stunning picture. This film is probably mind-blowing for anyone who hasn’t played a video game or is unfamiliar with first-person perspective narrative-based storytelling.
However, once Elwood and Turner meet, and it becomes clear that the ladder is a polar opposite cynic, the reasoning for that first-person perspective switching between them makes profound sense. It is also Turner who defeatedly explains the four ways to get out of Nickel Academy, knowing full well that people are rarely granted freedom. This is not a place of learning or moral reform as much as it is a loophole into bringing back slavery and hard labor and all the abuse that comes with that disgusting dynamic. As for what the upstanding, college-bound Elwood is doing at this school, well, that’s another infuriating subject. The film also smartly pushes the sadistic headmaster (Hamish Linklater) into the background, creating a looming specter of impending cruelty.
As the beliefs between Elwood and Turner clash, a tender friendship also develops among the danger and uncertainty. Sometimes, that connection is missing some emotional impact due to how muted and nuanced everything is here. One also can’t help admitting that for as stylistically absorbing and impressive as the first-person perspective techniques are, the longer the film goes on, the more it can’t help but stick out and also take away from some of that emotion, occasionally getting lost in those technical accomplishments with the story dragging in the process. The most poignant and emotionally stirring moments come in the modern-day since it’s hard to put into words how upsetting it is to observe an excavation of painful history that one is witnessing simultaneously. The greatest strength of Nickel Boys isn’t the first-person perspective technique but rather putting the whole ugly picture into perspective.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
