Nickel Boys tells the story of Elwood Curtis (Ethan Herisse), a young man in Florida who dreams of going to technical school while being raised by his grandmother Hattie (Aunjanue Ellis). His dreams are shattered after accepting a ride in a stolen car and being sentenced to Nickel Academy, a brutal boys reformatory in the Jim Crow South. While there, Elwood strikes up a friendship with Turner (Brandon Turner), a fellow Black teen who helps Elwood survive the abusive school in the midst of Elwood’s optimism and pursuit of justice and fairness. The boys try to march on while twenty in the future, the truth about Nickel is slowly uncovered in the media.
What stands out from the film’s first frame is the manner in which director is choosing to utilize visuals in order to bolster and strengthen Nickel Boys’ themes and story. Shot in a traditional 4:3 format, the film is at first shot from the first person perspective. We see Elwood’s hands and feet from his vantage point and only see his actual face when he passes by or looks into a mirror. We get a glimpse of his daily life, his relationship with his grandmother, the burgeoning civil rights movement that gains his attention, and his hard work in trying to gain acceptance into technical school. At approximately 40 minutes into the film, the narrative focus turns toward the second boy that is the subject of its story, Turner. From there, we see his side of the story of what life in Nickel is like, his thoughts, hopes, and dreams. It is here that the diachotomy between the two boys is presented, switching from Elwood’s activist inspired idealism toward Turner’s cynicism that the corrupt system which is mistreating them can never be improved.
This intimate style of visual storytelling is intended to make for a more emotionally visceral and resonant experience that makes life in an abusive youth prison more real for members of the audience. It seeks to put the viewer in Elwood and Turner’s shoes, to feel what they felt and lose what they have lost; freedom and innocence. In addition to this though, what we receive is a standout cinematic experience that differs from typical film fare in how a story is presented. It’s an immersive and creative experience that is captivating to watch as at times, it does make for a more stimulating watch that touches upon some senses that are not normally engaged during moviegoing.
RaMell Ross imbues Nickel Boys with genuinely inventive technical craftsmanship, from its visual presentation of the dual perspectives of its two main characters to the interspersed flashbacks to the 1980s with a subplot of the history of Nickel Academy being uncovered by the media and tracked by one of its survivors. How he plays with perspective in the film displays a level of craftsmanship that is noteworthy for a debut feature. While the technical expertise is replete here, the story itself is only moderately interesting to follow and doesn’t quite match the high level of craftsmanship present, high as that bar may be. Nickel Boys is an emotional film to be sure, with Aunjanue Ellis’ performance as Hattie making a seismic impact with just a little amount of time, and the climax of the boys’ run for freedom being full of tension. Despite the high level of empathy and emotional investment it engenders, the story itself feels like a rote tale of injustice and the ideological split between Elwood and Turner slightly underexplored. Still the level of emotion within the tale and the level of expertise present in its creation make this one of the best entries of the year overall. RaMell Ross has announced his arrival onto the scene forcefully.
Image: Amazon MGM Studios
