Nickel Boys: Another Review. By Nick Boyd.

“Nickel Boys,” based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Colson Whitehead, is a heartbreaking, powerful and unconventionally shot film set in the 1960s about Black teens at a brutal Florida reform school named Nickel Academy who endure unspeakable mistreatment yet show perseverance amid challenging circumstances.  The so-called “reform school” is based on the actual Dozier School for Boys in Tallahassee where the remains of almost a hundred children and teens have been discovered.

The film starts out with promise for Elwood Curtis (Ethan Herisse), whose high-school teacher sees in him a bright future at a technical college, which he encourages him to pursue.  Elwood is being raised by his grandmother Hattie (Aunjanue L. Ellis-Taylor in a warm-hearted performance), who is generous with her love and support.  One day when Elwood hitches a ride from an African-American man to head out to the school, the driver gets pulled over by a white officer because the car is stolen.  Since Elwood is in the car, he is in essence an accessory, and this being the time period it is, he finds himself in trouble with the law and thus gets sent off to the reform school. 

There is a clear racial divide of privilege and treatment at Nickel Academy between the Black students and the White ones.  At Nickel, Elwood finds an ally in Turner (Brandon Wilson). Turner is the more opportunistic and cynical of the two, explaining to Elwood what he can expect and how to work within the system.  As the film goes on, the two form a support system determined to challenge the status quo.   

As impressive and involving as the movie is, what did not work for me is Elwood’s grandma looks like she could have been his mom’s age.  Also, the way the movie was shot (first-person perspective) was distracting and felt gimmicky.  I found the scenes with outer space images, while attempting to set the tone of the time period, to be superfluous.

The performances by the young actors, Herisse and Wilson, are quite good and powerful, with a rawness and openness that adds to their effectiveness.  

We come to really care about the characters and the film immerses us in the time period, letting us see the injustices and the way of life that was.

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