Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Nickel Boys, is a heartrending story of two young black boys named Elwood and Turner who are sent to Nickel Academy, an abusive reform school. The novel is heavy, but beautifully written and well worth reading. Its story is told in a way that plays with the reader’s perception of its narrative, with a turn near the end of the novel recontextualizing everything that came before. This is done in such a way that would make it difficult to adapt to the screen due to reasons I can’t get into without spoiling the entire novel. However, filmmaker RaMell Ross has figured out a way to make a faithful, gripping adaptation of the novel in a way that retains its shifting perspectives by shooting the whole film through a first-person POV. As a result, we see the story unfold through the eyes of our two protagonists, which makes it impossible to ignore the truth behind their experiences at Nickel Academy. This choice not only translates Whitehead’s prose and core ideas from his novel to the screen extremely well, but it also makes for an intimate, deeply human experience. Nickel Boys is a powerful, visionary film that puts you in the shoes of its two main characters as they encounter devastating horrors and fleeting moments of beauty.
Growing up in Jim Crow-era Florida, Elwood Curtis (Ethan Herisse) excels in the classroom and appears to be destined for greatness. While hitchhiking to attend an accelerated study program, he is picked up by a man driving a stolen car and is arrested. Elwood is sent to Nickel Academy, a reform school for young boys. The school is segregated, with white students receiving considerably better treatment than black students. Black students at Nickel are abused by the school’s staff and hired out for labor so the school can profit off them. One day, Elwood meets Turner (Brandon Wilson) and the two quickly bond. Though both young men have similar temperaments, they have different outlooks on life, with Elwood taking inspiration from leaders of the Civil Rights movement and their ideals while Turner is much more cynical and only expects further discrimination from the world. While at Nickel, the two discover the horrific truths lurking under its surface, and begin to see things from each other’s perspectives.
This film is a masterclass of visual storytelling, showing us the world through the eyes of Elwood and Turner. The first person POV was a little jarring for me at first, but I really appreciated this aspect of the film once I got used to it. It is so integral to how this story is told, and adds a whole new layer to the weight and profundity of Whitehead’s original novel. From start to finish, we are in either Elwood or Turner’s head, seeing what they see and occasionally getting visions of what they may be thinking. An example of this occurs early in the film, when Elwood is being transported to Nickel Academy. The film cuts from his perspective to the opening scene from The Defiant Ones where Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis are in the back of a police truck. It’s a small moment, but one that recalls being in a situation where you think to yourself “This reminds me of that one movie…” or something along those lines. There are little flashes of other imagery, whether they be representations of memories, thoughts, or more abstract states of mind, and they further add to the immersive feel the film is going for.
The way that the first person shooting perspective is choreographed and accomplished is jaw-dropping in execution. Jomo Fray’s camerawork is stunningly beautiful on its own, but the added element of seeing everything from the POV of our two main characters adds even more to it. The shifts between Elwood and Turner are effective, and we truly get insight into how they view the world around them and the gravity of their time at Nickel. The fact that Fray is able to pull off the first person POV consistently and masterfully is impressive enough, but it becomes even more impressive when you realize that almost every shot in the film is a oner. Director RaMell Ross has said that the film was conceived as a series of oners, and I must say that his vision is fully realized through Fray’s cinematography.
As someone who has read Colson Whitehead’s novel and greatly admires it, I couldn’t help but wonder how faithful of an adaptation this might be. As it turns out, it is mostly one-to-one with the book, and the way Ross and co-writer Joslyn Barnes translate it to the screen is incredible. Most of this comes through in Ross’s direction, but the script lays a firm foundation for the film as a whole. Ross’s previous work in documentary filmmaking clearly has an influence on his approach to this film, as he gets to the core of our two characters and their lives at Nickel Academy. He captures the reality inherent in the film’s story, making it seem even more truthful through his more intimate filmmaking style. Ross honors Whitehead’s novel while still putting his own spin on it, and makes a powerful work of cinema in the process.
The film also benefits from the performances of Ethan Herisse and Brandon Wilson, who both deliver some excellent work here. Their portrayals of Elwood and Turner feel so lived-in and authentic, and they both play off each other so well. Herisse and Wilson may not appear on screen together often due to the whole visual conceit of the film, but we still feel the strong bond between them, which comes through in both of their performances. The film also features a knockout performance from Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, who delivers some of its most devastating blows. Ellis-Taylor plays Hattie, Elwood’s grandmother who shows up periodically throughout the film. She shines in every scene she appears, whether it is a monologue delivered to Elwood about his interest in the Civil Rights movement, the scene where she meets Turner for the first time, or an absolutely heartbreaking moment near the end of the film that I won’t spoil here. It is one of the finest supporting turns I’ve seen all year, and one of her best performances to date.
Nickel Boys is an absolute must-see experience that stands as one of the most powerful, insightful, and deeply human films I’ve seen in recent memory. It is a wonderful adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s novel, and beautifully showcases RaMell Ross’s talent as a filmmaker. It forces the viewer to reckon with the horrible events that take place at Nickel Academy, which mirror what actually happened at real-life reform schools during this period of time. It is sobering and affecting, but has moments of pure beauty and profound humanity that make it a truly incredible film.
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