Time: 140 Minutes
Cast:
Ethan Herisse as Elwood
Daveed Diggs as adult Elwood
Brandon Wilson as Turner
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as Hattie
Hamish Linklater as Spencer
Fred Hechinger as Harper
Jimmie Fails as Mr. Hill
Director: RaMell Ross

One of the 2024 movies I had been meaning to catch up on was Nickel Boys, based on the reception, it seems to be one of the most acclaimed films of the year. My interest increased further when it was an awards contender, even being nominated for Best Picture. Having seen it, I think that the reactions were well deserved.

One of the curious things that I knew about Nickel Boys going in was that it literally takes place from the perspective of the two main characters, with the camera filming from each of their points of views. You aren’t just witnessing their lives and experiences playing out, you are watching it through them. The movie is very deliberately paced and the filmmaking style is initially jarring, but eventually I was invested and got onto its wavelength. It’s a deeply emotional, haunting and harrowing film about the systemic racism that black teenagers have suffered, made even more immersive and hard hitting through its first person approach. Another thing to note is that it has a nonlinear approach to its storytelling, and while it might be an unpopular opinion, I wasn’t really into that. I found that the sudden cuts to the future broke the flow if anything.

The acting is great all round. Ethan Herisse and Brandon Wilson are exceptional in the lead roles, and their friendship is really convincing and believable. Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor is also amazing and brings so much to every scene she’s in.

The direction from RaMell Ross is excellent and meticulous, on a technical level it is so immaculately put together. It has a very bold, inventive and experimental filmmaking style for a debut feature film, but it worked for me. As I said earlier, the camerawork largely takes place through the perspectives of the two main characters, and they manage to make it more than just a gimmick. The cinematography is truly mesmerising and fantastic, they know what to show on camera and what not to show, and really make it feel like you are living their lives. I do know that this style won’t work for everyone though, it is especially jarring when it jumps between the two perspectives in the same scene. The editing is amazing with the cross cutting and use of archival footage, I wasn’t surprised to learn afterwards that Ross had previously worked on documentaries. The use of sound is also incredible, as was the rather unsettling score throughout.

Nickel Boys is a visceral, powerful, harrowing and all around fantastic, with incredible and bold direction, and great performances. It definitely lives up to all the acclaim and is well worth watching.