Director: RaMell Ross
Starring: Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, Hamish Linklater, Fred Hechinger, Daveed Diggs, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor
Certificate: 12A
Run Time: 140 mins

Nickel Boys is RaMell Ross’ narrative feature directorial debut, previously known for his 2018 Oscar-nominated documentary Hale County This Morning, This Evening.  An adaptation of the 2019 novel of the same name by Colson Whitehead, Nickel Boys tells the story story of Elwood Curtis (Ethan Herisse), a young African-American living in a segregated Tallahassee, Florida. He excels at school and is accepted into a tuition-free accelerated study program at a historically black school. Unfortunately, he accepts a lift from a man driving a stolen car while hitchhiking to campus and the police send him to Nickel Academy, a reform school notorious for its abusive treatment of students. There, he meets Turner (Brandon Wilson) and despite their initially opposite ideals, become friends. 

The film is shot in a first-person point-of-view so we see the plot unfold through the eyes of Elwood (the perspective is then shared with Turner in the film’s second half). That’s certainly an unconventional way to tell a story and stands Nickel Boys apart from more conventional historical drama biopics. 

Unfortunately, despite its novel filmmaking technique, I found Nickel Boys to be very dull and I think that first-person point-of-view decision is to blame. It detracts from the important story being told, which tackles some incredibly heavy themes, but the film never conveys its emotions. The stilted script doesn’t flow in a natural way and  and I found it very difficult to connect with any of the characters. None of the performances worked for me, even Hamish Linklater who made such a powerful impression in Midnight Mass. The film is also drastically overlong at 140 minutes and a generic title card revealing some images of the true events feels emotionally manipulative – especially for a film that’s trying to defy convention. The only real plus side is Jomo Fray’s sporadically stirring cinematography, especially a scene of Elwood and Turner conversing underneath a window that’s featured in the theatrical release poster.

I really wanted to like Nickel Boys, especially considering the rapturous response it has received. But I found it to be an patience-testing exercise in style over substance and the novel filming style robbed the film of any emotional impact.