Directed By RaMell Ross

Starring – Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor

The Plot – Based on the historic reform school in Florida, “The Dozier School for Boys”, which was notorious for abusive treatment of students. It’s the story of Elwood Curtis (Herisse), a young African-American boy who is sent to the Nickel Academy after he is falsely accused of a crime during the 1960s. While there, he meets a boy named Turner (Wilson), and the two form a close friendship as they try to survive the horrors of the school and its corrupt administrators

Rated PG-13 for thematic material involving racism, some strong adult language including racial slurs, violent content and smoking.

NICKEL BOYS | Official Trailer

POSITIVES

Movies pertaining to such sensitive subjects such as racism in the Jim Crow era have no problem articulating the abuse that minorities faced in such overwhelmingly vulnerable situations, but only with “Nickel Boys” does that abuse permeate effortlessly to inexperienced audiences whose interpretations don’t even materialize half of the conditions of their everyday nightmare, with first person POV perspectives throughout the duration of its 135-minute run time that provided such an inescapably bleak and harrowing isolation factor to the youths who literally watched their futures go up in smoke, before their very eyes. Pitting audiences in the experiences of the victims is a certainly ambitious experiment that with it brings its own periodic challenges, but in doing such Ross forces us to feel and endure what his characters do, with a far greater emphasis on somberly stinging interactions that serve as a result of characters talking directly at us. It also forces us to seek clarity in the visuals that are sometimes obstructed by such a tightly condensed captivity of 4:3 boxed aspect ratio, forcing us to seek out answers in the breadcrumbs of visuals that we’re spared, which in turn crafts an airborne suspense in the atmosphere hanging overhead that never withers throughout us living through the first time experiences of Elwood at this racially segregated school for troubled youths. Ross also brings emphasis in his history as a documentarian filmmaker to the proceedings, with gorgeously entrancing transitions between various arcs in the story that not only watch the world outside of the school pass by seamlessly in the blink of an eye, but also psychologically taps into the abundance of scattered memories that initially feel randomized without meaning, before seeing the bigger picture, the longer that the film persists. Ross’ visual commanding feels every bit raw as it does sentimentally profound, outlining a bigger picture of lost innocence within the cultural events that fly by with velocity in the stock footage of news briefings that he incorporates into the sequencing, all the while utilizing our firmest grasp of the passing time, which is intentionally never given much focus in the depths of the unraveling narrative. For the storytelling, the bond in friendship between Elwood and Turner is easily the most fascinating component to this screenplay, with each of them representing such a symbiotically vast dynamic to their respective captivity in ways that physically and emotionally balance what the other one lacks. For Elwood, he remains a beacon of hope and persistence, despite the despair of his horrifying situation, and with Turner’s experience inside of the school echoing a pessimistic attitude to the conflicts that Elwood doesn’t quite fully grasp during his initial introduction to the school, it highlights Turner being the physical support that Elwood needs to survive his frequency of abuse, while Elwood serves as the mental resiliency that always keeps Turner’s mind occupied with dreams of their daring escape. The growth and development between their bond provided some much-needed optimism and levity to a film constantly enveloped with overwhelming dramatic impulses, and though this is a film that is tough to watch at times, the close proximity to this friendship only further drove my intrigue with the spontaneity of the narrative shifting forward in time, throughout the engagement, leading to a high stakes, gut-wrenching climax with a twist that levels audiences at the most defining time to the movie’s prominence. Shifting back to technique, the film’s production also elicits several appealing components that earned every inch of the Oscar nominations that the film garnered, particularly in the avenues of sound mixing and score, which made this film stand out in the same haunting perceptiveness that last year’s “The Zone of Interest” attained. Similar to how that movie made environmental noise a character of its own in the movie, so too does the production for “Nickel Boys”, both in the vivid detectability of birds chirping and wind blowing that make up the vibrancy of life’s many ingredients worth living for, as well as the ominous humming and buzzing of combustible machinery obscuring the nightmarish screams of prisoners forced to endure violent and sexual assaults on a nightly basis. The sound is consciously effective enough without feeling distracting to a scene’s integrity, providing just enough enhancement definition to cater to its first person perspective, but never in ways that make it feel like a gimmick of its own within the engagement. As for the compositions from the duo of Scott Alario and Alex Somers, the tones lean heavily into the slow and textural flow of the movie’s visuals, with ambiently dreamy instrumentals that assert such a wave of magic to the exuberance of life that Ross and cinematographer Jomo Fray capture so vividly, all with airy and light volume levels that subconsciously breeds optimism to conflicts defined by isolation and vulnerability. Last but not least, the performances never failed to tug at the tears that overwhelmed my ocular senses, particularly between Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, whose tenderness and affection inspire so much humanity in the air of these characters. Herisse and Wilson are aided tremendously by their impeccable chemistry, but solely they’re each given ample time to flourish for the screen, despite first person photography that sees them surprisingly splitting time within the device. Wilson radiates more of the charisma that serves to utilize the eyes and ears of this prison, but it’s impossible to overlook his air of defeatist attitude that come to tragically define his character, and though Herisse is saddled with being the primary protagonist for the film, offering him lesser opportunities to stand out, his limited time in front of the camera is used to garner bold melancholy in his demeanor, in ways that grow more discerning as the film persists. As for Ellis-Taylor, her heartbreaking visits to the school offer the film’s single greatest example of the outreaching trauma that comes with wrongful incarceration, with soulfully stirring sentiments in delivery that simultaneously build and break your heart, all with her endearing warmth in support that radiates across the first person view accordingly.

NEGATIVES

While “Nickel Boys” is undoubtedly an awards contender, it isn’t without occasional stumbling, which presented some initial challenges during the opening act that took some time getting used to. While I adored the first person perspective in framing, the editing is constantly stepping on the feet of its execution, with abrupt time shifts and spontaneous deviating among the first person device that required more effort than necessary to catch up to the integrity of the scene. It does settle in naturally by the film’s ending, especially when juggling multiple timelines, but I wish more definition was given in the transition, in order to articulate just whose perception we were emanating from, especially during sequences not showing Elwood or Turner. In addition, the editing also makes the opening act feel a little scatterbrained and aimless throughout the opening fifteen minutes, particularly in Elwood’s age increasing during what feels like every cut. Despite my overwhelming love for this film, I’m not ashamed to say that it took a little longer than expected to settle into the story, and while the opening act essentially serves as set-up to outline the misjustice that so many of these youths were unfortunately saddled with, it lacks enough context towards properly defining just what we’re experiencing with some of the occasionally cryptic visuals, no matter how long the camera persisted on them. Finally, while much of the pacing maintained urgency and motion throughout the duration of the nearly two-and-a-half hour run time, there is a small section towards the end of the second act where the story feels like it’s casually sitting in place, with a boxing subplot that comes out of nowhere, and is essentially not needed for Elwood’s story. I can understand its place is to further convey the extensive corruption within racketeering money throughout the school, however the pay-off is undercut a bit by what little information or visuals that we’re given to resolve one prisoner’s arc, making it feel entirely superfluous to the bigger picture of the film.

OVERALL
“Nickel Boys” walks more than a mile in its character’s shoes, unlocking the haunting and harrowing realities that many black youths faced in the Jim Crow south with a first person perspective that legitimately feels like it’s utilizing a purpose, instead of servicing a gimmick. With grippingly humanistic performances to the ensemble, as well as immersive value to both the sight and sound of the movie’s production, the film enables the documentarian approach that pays this story and RaMell Ross’ direction exceptionally, enacting enough beauty and value in the meaning of life, which permeates vibrantly more than ever in the hallowed halls of a torturous prison.

My Grade: 8.4 or B+