Nickel Boys

I love history. I always have. It was the only class that could ever hold my attention until someone told me I could take acting as an elective.

I also love Florida, as most Floridians do. Nickel Boys included both, and while neither are particularly positive in this story, they both are powerful. Nickle boys follows “A young African-American boy who is sent to a reform school after being falsely accused of a crime, where he meets a boy who helps him survive the horrors of the school".

The film is one of the few art house films (experimental over commercial) that made it to the main stream this Oscar season and for good reason. It is a truly American epic.

It deals directly with the coming of age of a young black man in America and boldly faces the sins of racism without a hint of cynicism. The lead character Elwood is an everyman that any young American could see themselves in. He is passionate, caring, and driven idealist in a way that makes him slightly naïve to the evils that he faces in the midst of the Jim Crow era. When wrongfully put into a reform school that more resembles a plantation, he meets his pragmatic counterpart Turner who teaches him how to get by. The characters intertwining narrative is only made stronger by the films first perspective visual story telling that make you feel as if you are looking through their eyes. As a young man I found it particularly beautiful how the two friends effected one another in both fighting for justice and surviving long enough to see that justice come to pass. Ethan Herisse as Ellwood brought such a gentleness to the screen and Brandon Wilson as Turner was cool in a way that made you breathe deeper.

From a technical perspective the film was one of a kind against the other films in the best picture category. The entire film takes place in first person. So you watch the entire 2 hour movie through the eyes of the character. Director Ramell Ross begins the film with extended periods of first person hinging on glimpses of Elwood in the reflection of Irons, TV Shop windows, and mirrors.

This device engaged me in a detective like way as I gained so much information but was left without seeing that which I’m so used to. A half hour into the film we meet Turner and receive an entirely new point of view. We are blasted with the piercing eyes of Ellwood that make a person out of his previously faceless dialogue.

Throughout the film, like when watching a film in another language, we settle in and watch as if nothing is abnormal about the visual style. But what I gained from the device was the ability to participate more in what the characters were feeling, and even if only slightly, be less of a spectator.

The third act of the film is palpably heavy as we jump to and from the future and deal with the grief of what ultimately happens to our leads. I think this film is phenomenal and will certainly win best adapted screen play but more importantly…

Of all the films in the best picture category, this is the one I wish I could sit down and make you watch. I wish every history class had it as required curriculum. It is powerful and haunting and it makes you want to be a better person.

I am particularly intrigued that it is not the only best picture nomination dealing with the posthumous exoneration of individuals harmed by their own government.

I look forward to reading the book.