de facto film reviews 3.5 stars

A harrowing, unsettling chronicle by documentary-turned-narrative filmmaker RaMell Ross (Hale County This Morning, This Evening), Nickel Boys is a highly engaging adaptation of the acclaimed 2019 novel by novelist Colson Whitehead. The film is based on Dozier School, an abusive reform school deep in the Jim Crowe state of Florida that operated for well over 100 years and forced children to box each other for money, in which there were many unrecorded deaths of the children whose remains were found in the late 20th century. In the film, the film follows two teenagers whose pursuits of college are shattered once they are sentenced to Dozier, which in the film is referred to as Nickel Academy.

The two teens—Elwood (Ethan Herisse) and Turner (Brandon Wilson)—hold courage and remain hopeful, as their friendship builds them to a journey of hope and survival. Ross’s visual style is innovative, recalling the first-person viewpoint technical aspects of Gaspar Noe’s Enter the Void. Yet, it never feels gimmicky, as the film is structured in a first-person viewpoint of both characters in equal measure, in which the middle section frames them in 2 shots. The writing is also very personal, which gives the story its immediacy. In an age of democratic uncertainty and irrationality, RaMell Ross refuses to stand back and allows cinema to shed light on injustices and devastated abuses that are sadly whitewashed by our media and institutions.

Nickel Boys

Courtesy MGM/AMAZON

Ross proves to have a glorious eye for the aesthetic and a glorious skill for human drama. He has crafted an elegant, superbly crafted film, dramatically satisfying and flowing with passion and visual poetry. The film is filled with bravura shots, innovative camerawork, and a perturbed score by Alex Somers and Scott Alario. The film also contains some outstanding performances as well, by Anjanae Ellis-Taylor as Hattie, who plays Elwood’s grandmother, who offers the most reassurance and hope in the narrative. Even though the film is very unsettling and chilling to watch, a second viewing was needed to see just how visually and thematically layered it is. Nevertheless, this is a remarkable accomplishment of filmmaking that deserves all the acclaim that it’s currently receiving.

The film also offers many comforting moments that capture Elwood’s innocence and childhood. The narrative and the imagery unfold with an elliptical beauty. Whether it’s from his POV at a park lying in the grass to Elwood resting under a Christmas tree. The film certainly has a dream logic structure to it that feels just as fragmented in hazy memories as a Terrence Malick film. Sporadically cuts into the 2010s as we see an older Elwood as a businessman still dealing with the traumatic events in which he finds catharsis in developing research for the inevitable book that will shed light on the abuses at the Nickle Academy.

Nickel Boys

Courtesy MGM/Amazon Studios

The shots of older Elwood are also framed from the first-person perspective, but with OTS just like Noe partially did with Enter the Void. While this section of the film doesn’t quite ignite as much as the childhood stuff, there is a sign of relief once it cuts away there, knowing that Elwood will triumph in his liberating quest for hope and survival. As the narrative unfolds, we see the boys at Nickel pick oranges on stilts. This also makes for some unforgettable imagery, on top of Ross’s brilliant juxtapositions of speeches of Martin Luther King and other stock footage from the Civil Rights era that recalls the earlier work of Oliver Stone.

Ross takes the style further. Rather than conventionally filming the film, he breaks all the rules and chooses a style that is both visceral and distancing. It’s a conscious decision, one that leaves you both engaged and disoriented, and that is the wise design of Ross’s execution and ideas. Some might argue that it takes away from the narrative. However, rather than allowing the style to alienate you, one must allow the style to process and just surrender to it. From there you will come away with just how potent and brilliantly designed the material is. This is one of 2024’s most powerful experiences.

NICKEL BOYS is now playing in limited theaters.