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Counted among the films nominated for Best Picture at the 97th Academy Awards, ‘Nickel Boys’ directed by RaMell Ross, is a harrowing, but beautiful portrait of the lives of two young black teens with contrasting upbringings and beliefs who are living in an infamous reformation school. With unique visual language, greatly subdued performances, and a devastating conclusion, ‘Nickel Boys’ positions itself as deserving of its received awards nominations, if not deserving of more than it has or will be given.
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The School of Imprisonment
For many of us adults, ‘Nickel Boys’ provides a window back into younger school days where the concerns of a daily basis were bullies, harsh teachers and supervisors, and feeling trapped within the confines of the school property. Yet for the two boys we follow in the film, Turner and Elwood, played by Brandon Wilson and Ethan Herisse respectively, they are trapped, cut off from their families and outside acquaintances. There are a fair share of bullies who pick on them and some of the adults managing them are harsher than necessary.
However, these seemingly quaint issues that one eventually grows out of are gradually subsided for the true reality of Nickel Academy Reform School. Racial segregation is evident from the start as the white students are kept in fancier houses with proper attention from the staff while black students are in shabby, more run down accommodations. In addition, the black students are often forced to carry out convict labor which the administration receives money for.
One of the film’s most powerful scenes is in a boxing match between a white and black boxer where the latter is purposefully meant to take a dive in the third round for the purposes of the staff member’s bets, a scene not too indifferent from others in cinema. However, there is no Bruce Willis escaping from the consequences like in ‘Pulp Fiction’ (1994) as this young boxer is quietly disposed of by the school’s staff, not shown explicitly, but implied by the showcase of real life forensic photos of unmarked graves digging up corpses, presumably this boxer as one of them.
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Two Sides of the Coin
The film’s two main characters, Elwood and Turner, represent two contrasting views of many black people who have lived in America. Through all of the devastating times with slavery, Jim Crow laws, and beyond, there is the optimistic belief that hopes for improved livelihoods for all races in America, represented in ‘Nickel Boys’ with the educated Elwood who is full of promise and excitement for America which appears to see change thanks to people such as Martin Luther King Jr. On the other hand, the differing view held by many black people is that the genesis of the United States of America was made out of war, genocide, slavery, and a plethora of heinous acts which will all creep their way into how the country functions in the modern day no matter what, a view represented by Turner. Despite these differences, Elwood and Turner become best friends as they come to rely on each other in a school of bullying classmates and a corrupt administration. Elwood’s idealistic optimism and his precious, loving bond with his grandmother, played by Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, serves to raise Turner’s spirits on his cynical outlook while Turner’s knowledge on how people and the world functions helps Elwood through an unpredictable atmosphere in Nickel academy.
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Without resorting to spoilers, the conclusion of their bond is a conflicting one as both are proved correct in their view of America. There will always be people in the country who have evil, racist intent toward black people while at the same time, America has progressed since its establishment, outlawing slavery, removing racial segregation laws, and creating a country that, for the most part, people of any background can find success in. There may be no shortage of racism today, but it is at the very least possible for anyone to create a stable life and reprimand the wrongdoings of the past as shown with the resolve that one character has by the end of the film.
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A Unique Visual Style
‘Nickel Boys’ takes on a cinematic approach rarely seen where most of the shots portray the first person point of view of either Elwood or Turner, often alternating when necessary. It is an unspoken dream to tell a film’s story exclusively by shots depicting the perspective of the characters where all you see is their vision on the story and rarely is it done. Other movies that take on a first person perspective approach run a risk of turning out overly long or a cheap gimmick. In the case of ‘Nickel Boys’ the experiment pays off beautifully as all of the shots, whether they be from Elwood’s perspective in his youth, blissfully viewing the world without worry or scenes between the two that employ the shot reverse shot technique by the perspectives of the two, enhancing the connection of the characters.
Initially, the film focuses exclusively on Elwood as he approaches a promising career in an America that is in good hope changing for the better. The experience is uplifted by the choices of camera placement with shots in the grass of the camera tilted on its side similar to a young child lying on the front lawn. When Elwood meets Turner, we unexpectedly cut to his point of view as a way of symbolizing Elwood’s exposure to the world now outstretched to a new friend.
The reason for this experiment of filming is used for more than just aesthetic purposes. Shooting scenes exclusively through the cinematic eyes of the characters as a means of immersing the audience completely in their place and achieving a greater sense of empathy. It is an incredible achievement done through the language of movies since it takes a great deal of work to make such a style come to life. Precise choreography, convincing performances, and shots going on longer than normal. But, all of it is done in service of telling this moving story of two black teenagers with different outlooks on life going through the trials and dangers of living in Nickel Academy.
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It is a sad reality to know that many young teens are still subject to experiences as distressing as the ones Elwood and Turner went through at Nickel Academy. Even if they are fictional, their journeys are representative of many experiences undergone at Dozier Reform School, the real life place based on Nickel Academy. Thanks to the moving story from Colson Whitehead’s novel and the talents of RaMell Ross and all involved with the production, ‘Nickel Boys’ is able to intimately show these sorts of struggles by means of inventive filming techniques and harrowing presentation. In good hope, ‘Nickel Boys’ will bring awareness to similar forms of mistreatment and racism in modern day, putting us on the path to create better educational institutions and an improved future for all.
CREDITS:
Cast: Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, Aujanue Ellis-Taylor, Daveed Diggs
Cinematography by: Jomo Fray
Edited by: Nicholas Monsour
Produced by: Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, David Levine, Joslyn Barnes
Written by: Joslyn Barnes & RaMell Ross
Directed by: RaMell Ross
By Elijah van der Fluit
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Author
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Elijah van der Fluit is a writer for The Hollywood Insider based in California with aspirations to write and direct films for a professional career. In his spare time, Elijah enjoys watching and discussing movies of all genres as well as reading, hiking, spending time with family, and being one with the world. Elijah believes that art, whatever form it may take, has the ability to inspire and broaden people’s perspectives in a positive way and he hopes to use his work in film and writing to do so.
Elijah van der Fluit is a writer for The Hollywood Insider based in California with aspirations to write and direct films for a professional career. In his spare time, Elijah enjoys watching and discussing movies of all genres as well as reading, hiking, spending time with family, and being one with the world. Elijah believes that art, whatever form it may take, has the ability to inspire and broaden people’s perspectives in a positive way and he hopes to use his work in film and writing to do so.
