Nickel Boys

1/9/2025

The artistic choices a director makes while working on a film often contribute much to the success or failure of the finished project. When these decisions aptly suit the nature of the production, they can transform a commendable picture into a cinematic masterpiece. But, when they fail at this, they can unduly get in the way, and such is the case with this debut narrative feature from writer-director RaMell Ross. Based on the 2020 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Colson Whitehead, the film tells the story of two young Black men, Ellwood (Ethan Herisse) and Turner (Brandon Wilson), who reside at the Nickel Academy, a fictional Florida reform school based on the infamous Dozier School for Boys, an institution known for its notoriously abusive treatment. Set in the 1960s against the backdrop

2/5/2025

There are two really engaging performances on offer here as Ethan Herisse and Brandon Wilson deliver a powerful indictment of a Florida school for boys. Induced there with promises of innovative educational practices and no exorbitant fees, these lads arrive to discover that what they are attending is little better than a prison. Governed by brutality, starvation and violence, the boys have to conform to the demands of their boss “Spencer” (Hamish Linklater) or else life won’t be for the living. It’s worth pointing out that this isn’t just a school for black kids, all shapes and sizes are used and abused here and even if the authorities do decide to make a rudimentary visit, nobody ever dares to step out of line. It’s told using a combination of timelines, so there’s not so much actual jeo

3/2/2025

<em>'Nickel Boys'</em> is too slow paced and overly stylistic for my personal liking, but there is no doubting it has quality. I can understand the praise it has received, it's just not overly for me. A good film it still is, I don't have any major negatives despite the mild cons noted above. The performances of Ethan Herisse and Brandon Wilson are strong enough, admittedly I didn't really find much to connect with them aside from their predicament. The forced perspective that the movie is portrayed via doesn't help with that, as interesting a concept as it is. How I view it solely as a film doesn't really matter anyway, because it is good to see this get so much attention - if only to shed light on the harrowing reform school that the story is based upon. It's disturbing how many of

11/8/2025

This film does not work for me. Is it a good story? Yes. Is it a story that has to be told? Absolutely. Is it story that should be filmed in a pseudo-Andy-Warhol-warehouse "art" style? Fercrissake, no!! In my world, the visual should serve the story, not the director. I'm old and cranky and have seen way too much excellent cinema from all over the world, therefore, 5/10, IMHO, YMMV.