New York Film Festival film review: “Nickel Boys,” based on the novel by Colson Whitehead

Nickel Boys

In Nickel Boyswhich was screened as a narrative film on the opening night of the 2024 New York Film Festival, director RaMell Ross turns the traditional camera perspective on its head. In this idiosyncratic, unique film about racial identity in the Jim Crow South, Elwood (Ethan Harisse) learns the hard facts about racism, rejects them, and martyrs himself.

Elwood excelled in school and was diligently raised by his grandmother Hattie (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor). Through a terrible stroke of luck, he ends up in the reform school Nickel Academy. During the terrible trials there, his friendship with Turner (Brandon Wilson) determines his fate.

Ross uses a personal perspective and captivates us with camera angles that rarely show the main character, Elwood. This approach shows Elwood’s coming-of-age story by merging the viewer with the character. Symbolically and thematically, the perspective resonates and immerses the viewer in Elwood’s experiences. We don’t see Elwood filtered through cultural images of beauty, as traditional film suggests, distracting us by comparing actors and focusing on their looks rather than their character.

The film also uses a personal POV with Elwood’s friend Turner (Brandon Wilson) and the adult Turner (Daveed Diggs). Ross and co-screenwriter Joslyn Barnes construct the film using flashbacks and present-day scenes in which Elwood runs a moving company in New York City, where he lives with his wife. After work, he pores over his computer and checks the archives. We only see the back of his head. However, as the film moves between the present and the past, we gradually put the puzzle pieces together.

Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Colson Whiteheads

Based on the title novel by Colson Whitehead, the film places great emphasis on details that convey the point of view. For example, sometimes the camera focuses on seemingly foreign objects. In the question-and-answer session after the screening, Ross explained that when the characters are being insulted and/or insulted, they do not look at the faces of their abusers. Instead, they may be looking at their shirts, shoes, etc. The camera angle focuses on something else. Importantly, this “distraction” alerts the viewer to the victim’s frightened reaction and increases the viewer’s annoyance as the sounds of beating and moans relay the abuse without us seeing it.

The fascinating thing is that we don’t know what Elwood looks like until the director allows us to see Harisse well into the film. This POV not only amazes and frustrates us, it also violently displaces us as typical viewers and creates tension and involvement. So we understand everything that happens to Elwood, his abuse at the hands of others, through his eyes. We witness his rejection and bullying of whites and blacks alike. Through flashbacks from his youth, we also see how he becomes increasingly aware of his degraded racial identity in 1960s Florida.

Grandmother Hattie and Mr. Hill form a successful contrast

In contrast, we also experience the love and warmth of Elwood’s grandmother Hattie, a bulwark that initially protects him from the pain and hatred that comes from the culture. Through her reaction to Elwood, we feel her wisdom, grace, and big heart. We see how she lives Christianity, which helps her overcome the difficulties of life. Their quiet activism, which introduces Elwood to the ways of the Lord and introduces him to Martin Luther King Jr., strengthens him against hatred and anger.

Rationality distracts Elwood from the biased, violent culture. His teacher, Mr. Hill, helps him get interested in college. Together, Mr. Hill and Hattie’s encouraging attitude strengthens Elwood’s hope that the culture can change. By Dr. King’s marches make him realize that African Americans have recourse – and that any situation can therefore be combated with the truth.

Reform school tests Elwood’s beliefs

However, his beliefs are put to the test at the Nickel Academy. Hattie tries to contact him there and hire a lawyer to fight the miscarriage of justice that has locked Elwood up in the reformatory and to petition for Elwood’s release. Since she can’t meet Elwood, she meets Turner, who passes on information to Elwood. Although the two teenagers come from different backgrounds and different worldviews, they grow close together. The Nickel Academy mistreats the boys there, working them without pay and punishing them for few good reasons. The particularly evil Spencer (Hamish Linklater), one of the school principals, sadistically enjoys brutalizing the young people.

When Elwood shows Turner a pamphlet in which he wrote down the dates, times and locations of various abuses by Spencer and others, he becomes a whistleblower. Turner tells him to be careful. Anyone who opposes Spencer and the others disappears. Undeterred, Elwood insists that they use the diary to notify inspectors who can shut down the facility. But his hopes and plans go awry, and Turner suggests another opportunity that must be seized before Spencer’s revenge comes upon them.

A tight script

Ross and Barnes’ tight script rocks its conclusion. A controversial ending leaves one stunned, and the POV cinematography, the gift that keeps on giving, is an integral part of the ending.

The exceptional performances from the ensemble, and especially Harisse, Wilson and Ellis-Taylor, leave you with something to remember long after the lights have come on. Nickel Boys You have to see it a few times to understand “Ross’ extraordinary adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s novel.” Thanks to his artistic genius and willingness to take risks, this groundbreaking work is sure to be award-winning.

The film will be shown at the 2024 New York Film Festival until October 9th.