‘Nickel Boys’ Review

When I learned there would be a film adaptation of ‘The Nickel Boys’, I was skeptical to say the least. I first read Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel shortly after it was released in 2019, and was stunned with its power and beauty. Beyond the strength of the story, Whitehead’s writing elevated the novel into magnificent art. Given how critical the prose was to its power, I was suspicious of a film adaptation. I imagined a cash grab, Oscar bait film, using the name recognition of the novel and its core story as a crutch, undercut by pedestrian, safe filmmaking.

But instead, director RaMell Ross has delivered the rare thing: a masterpiece adapted from a masterpiece. In the way that Whitehead’s prose elevated the original book into the highest form of novels, Ross’s filmmaking elevates this to the highest version of film. This is a film adaptation in the purest sense of the phrase. The novel is the best version of the novel, and this is the best version of the film, and to compare and contrast the two would be to ignore the different strengths of each medium.

‘Nickel Boys’ opens with Elwood (played by Ethan Cole Sharp, Ethan Herisse, and Daveed Diggs at different points in time), an ambitious, socially conscious young black child in the south, being raised by his grandmother, Hattie (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor). While in high school, Elwood hitchhikes his way to a local college for some classes and is picked up by a man driving a stolen car. When he is pulled over, Elwood pleads his innocence, that he was just getting a ride, but the justice system ignores his pleas and sends him to Nickel Academy, a reform school. While there, he meets and befriends a boy named Turner (Brandon Wilson). Where Elwood has a family on the outside, a lawyer, and faith in the civil rights movements to fix all the injustices afflicted upon the black community, Turner is alone and pessimistic. The system can’t be beaten, so you better just try to survive within it. The academy isn’t especially cruel, it’s just a more honest version of the real world. Despite their philosophical differences, their friendship blossoms as they both seek to make the most of their time at Nickel Academy, try to avoid the worst punishments, and try to imagine a future beyond these walls.

What Whitehead’s command of the English language did for the original novel, Ross’s command of film language does here: it elevates an already powerful story into a beautiful work of art. When I saw that this was RaMell Ross’s first narrative feature film (he had previously directed the documentary ‘Hale County This Morning, This Evening’ in 2018), I was stunned. He works with such confidence, each shot gentle and evocative and free flowing into the next. His experience with documentary filmmaking comes through as well, as the story’s narrative flow is repeatedly punctured by a wide range of footage: a scene from ‘The Defiant Ones’, newsreel footage of Apollo 8, educational videos telling young black boys they shouldn’t fear dogs. Some of these clips establish context for the present day scenes, some of these clips further contextualize the pain and suffering of the children at Nickel Academy, and some have no immediate explanation. But they all feel intentional, provocative, further hammering in the poignancy of this story, how much institutional racism seeps into every aspect of society.

Virtually the entire film is shot using a first person POV, a technique I’ve generally associated with action films trying to recreate the experience of a video game (‘Doom’, ‘Hardcore Henry’). I’ve never seen this technique used to such an extent in a drama, and was worried it would come off gimmicky. And yet, not only does this method of storytelling convey the immediacy of the story, it fully immerses the viewer in the lived experiences of Elwood and Turner. As fantastic as the cinematography is, equal praise must be given to the sound design. As Elwood and Turner sit together at lunch, alternating between their perspectives, the conversations happening around them are audible, further enhancing the reality of the situation. Creating this full sensory experience only heightens the pain and heartbreak of these boys’ lives at Nickel.

Like in any adaptation, pieces of the book are cut out for time purposes, and yet this is done without sacrificing any of the book’s power. I can easily forget about what’s cut when every member of the cast is capable of communicating so much, with so little. Hamish Linklater as Nickel Academy’s superintendent is incredible, menacing, and powerful, even as he has relatively few lines of dialogue. On the other end is Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as Elwood’s grandmother. She is so emotive, so big when the scene calls for it, but also so subtle when she’s trying to hide her own pain from her impressionable grandson : a simple raise of the eye brows, diverting of the eyes, and we know that she wants the world to be better for Elwood, even if she doesn’t believe it herself.

As the story jumps through the decades, we are forced to reckon with how these traumas extend well beyond the walls of Nickel Academy. This was a system that took in children and tried to break them. Even as we follow Elwood and Turner through each shock, each heartbreak, we know that even if they survive their immediate circumstances, the memories will haunt them forevermore. RaMell Ross has made a film worthy of telling their stories, shot like a memory we desperately want to forget. And yet we can’t. Whether we like it or not, our history informs our futures, and ‘Nickel Boys’ forces us to reckon with that painful truth.

Nickel Boys
Rated PG-13 for thematic material involving racism, some strong language including racial slurs, violent content and smoking.
Running Time: 2 hours and 21 minutes

Director RaMell Ross
Writers RaMell Ross, Joslyn Barnes
Stars Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, Hamish Linklater, Fred Hechinger, Daveed Diggs, Jimmie Fails, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor
Rating PG-13
Running Time 141 Minutes
Genres Drama