Review

Unconventionality is not always an asset and, in attempting to experiment with offbeat techniques to encourage viewer engagement, director RaMell Ross has inadvertently done the opposite, creating distance instead of immersion. In film, shaky cam-enhanced first-person storytelling can be a minefield. A few directors have used it meaningfully but it too often comes across as an unwelcome gimmick. In addition to mostly adhering to the first-person approach, Ross frequently changes the perspective from that of one character to another, jumps through time, and uses a variety of artistic artifacts as transitions. These things ultimately distract from a strong gut-punch of a narrative.

Although the events presented in Nickel Boys are fictional, the film's primary location, Nickel Academy reform school, is strongly influenced by the real-life Dozier School for Boys, an institution that somehow lasted for 111 years despite an inhumane reputation (before being permanently shuttered in 2011). In developing his 2019 novel, The Nickel Boys, author Colson Whitehead relied strongly on reports about Dozier to flesh out Nickel Academy.

The film's basic narrative tracks that of the source novel, focusing primarily on events in the early 1960s while occasionally flashing forward to the 2010s. The main character, Elwood Curtis (Ethan Herisse), is a high achieving African American high school student who lives in Tallahassee. Due to his strong academic performance, he is selected to take some university courses. On the first day of classes, as he is walking to school, he is offered a ride by a black man. When the police pull the car over, Elwood learns that the driver stole it and, as the passenger, he is implicated in the crime. He is convicted and sent to Nickel Academy reform school, where the students are segregated with the black boys being subjected to significantly worse treatment than their white counterparts. Hard labor, beatings, sexual abuse, and even death occur. Elwood befriends Turner (Brandon Wilson), a more world-weary and cynical boy. Although Elwood attempts to serve his time as obediently and unobtrusively as possible, events conspire to bring him to the notice of the school administrator, a cruel white man named Spencer (Hamish Linklater). He is taken to the infamous "White House," where he is tortured. When his grandmother, Hattie (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor), comes to visit, she is not allowed to see Elwood.

The story is as riveting as it is disturbing, shining a light on a regrettable aspect of 20th century Americana. In some ways, Nickel Boys reminded me of Peter Mullan's 2002 movie, The Magdalene Sisters, which recounted the abuses suffered by Irish Catholic girls of "dubious morals" when sequestered in a place called the Magdalene Sanctuary. Taken together, the films paint a sad portrait of one inescapable trait of human nature: the tendency of the dominant to degrade and destroy those whom they perceive to be of lesser value. Ultimately, the goal of Nickel Boys is not to provide a cathartic experience but to be ruthless in its portrayal of how events unfold. This isn't a revenge fantasy where victims turn on their oppressors.

It's a shame that Ross' stylistic choices detract from not only a compelling story but the fine performances of Ethan Herisse and Brandon Wilson. Unfortunately, too often the viewer may be focused more on the mechanics of filmmaking than the progression of the characters' arcs. As a story, Nickel Boys has a lot to recommend it, but there's a sense that the experience could have been more devastating had the filmmakers simply let it play out rather than using it as an opportunity for directorial flourishes and experimentation.

© 2024 James Berardinelli

Synopsis

Elwood Curtis’s college dream shatters alongside a two-lane Florida highway. Bearing the brunt of an innocent misstep, he’s sentenced to the netherworld of Nickel Academy, a brutal reformatory sunk deep in the Jim Crow South. He encounters another ward, the seen-it-all Turner. The two Black teens strike up an alliance: Turner dispensing fundamental tips for survival, Elwood, clinging to his optimistic worldview. Backdropped by the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement, Elwood and Turner’s existence appear worlds away from Rev. Martin Luther King’s burnished oratory. Despite Nickel’s brutality, Elwood strives to hold onto his humanity, awakening a new vision for Turner.

Playing At

• Belcourt Theatre
  2102 Belcourt Avenue, Nashville, TN
• AMC DINE-IN Thoroughbred 20
  633 Frazier Drive, Franklin, TN
• AMC DINE-IN Thoroughbred 20
  633 Frazier Drive, Franklin, TN