Nickel Boys Review | A Captivating Cinematic Exploration in First-Person POV

Nickel Boys (2024) captures intense hardships in its long, mysterious flash-forward scenes, tragedy encoded in each one. First-person images of childhood experiences might point to happy memories, but the timely use of a time-lapsed night sky incidentally reminds us of the director (RamFell Ross’) somber early documentary Hale Country This Morning, This Evening. 

Directed and written by RaMell Ross, alongside additional writers (Joslyn Barnes and Colson Whitehand), Nickel Boys is an American noir film that follows the journey of Elwood (Ethan Herisse) and Turner (Brandon Wilson). The film is adapted from Colson Whitehead’s best-selling novel of the same name. 

Nickel Boys Review

Nickel Boys intriguingly presents itself as a stylistic collection of memories. As the film flows by, it continues to maintain the atmosphere of a warm hug. Small moments of warmth creep their way through the high-intensity drama, especially in one particular scene where a woman hugs her grandson’s friend in the absence of her grandson himself. 

This mystifying narrative opens with Elwood, an African American teenage boy in Jim Crow-era Tallahassee, Florida, sitting alongside his grandmother (exceptional performance by Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) in front of the TV. Across the screen plays news about Martin Luther King and the Apollo Space mission. 

The wide shots and use of a 35mm frame set the scene beautifully as we explore Elwood’s dynamic world. 

We learn that he’s a bright kid, often encouraged to attend community college and get involved in anti-racism activities.

However, due to being in the wrong place at the wrong time in the wrong skin tone, Elwood is convicted of a crime he didn’t commit and sent to a reform school named “The Nickel Academy.” With the segregation and unfair treatment so painfully evident in this facility, Elwood is suddenly exposed to harsh realities of bigotry and violence in his world. 

Nickel Boys is shot entirely in Elwood’s first-person point-of-view. This camera choice created a dreamy, anxious, subjective POV for the storyline. However, the story isn’t completely dependent upon the first-person perspective as we get the opportunity to see reflections of Elwood’s face in several instances. For example, the shiny metal of grandma’s iron, the dark mirror of a TV store window, and the printed product of the Photo Booth – a classic creative choice that conveys much deeper aspects of the director’s message.

Nickel Boys pulls off this first-person point-of-view filming choice with creative perfection. The film’s clever execution of this perspective resembles Robert Montgomery’s Lady in the Lake (1947), Rouben Mamoulian’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and the Indian contemporary Abhijit Kokate’s and Srivinay Salian’s Rakkhosh. This camera choice allows viewers to engage with the film’s moments directly, entering the main character’s position rather passively viewing their journey as a third person. 

The story doesn’t stray far from the typical coming-of-age tropes. In Nickel Boys, scene transitions create a steep turn using shot-reverse-shot dialogue scenes popularized by Channel 4 TV comedy, Peep Show. This makes each scene feel more immersive and vivid.

 Each character is meticulously crafted, and the relationships between these characters unfold beautifully throughout the story. There is one scene in particular with Elwood and Turner that swims in this dreamy, emotionally charged atmosphere, which creates the perfect setup for the following events. 

In Conclusion…

Nickel Boys is a perfect blend of emotional and creative ventures. It immerses viewers in both the modern-day metropolitan and old 60s New York at the same time. This provides a fresh perspective on the brutality and bigotry inside the Nickel Academy while also presenting a candid take on the outside political reality. The film is a fantastic attempt to take the audience through the realities of the real world, to which we are mostly immune sitting in the comforts of our safe zones.

Rating: 7/10

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Peace, love, and lots of popcorn,

IMO

Last Updated on 04/07/2025 by IMO Flicks