Nickel Boys is based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Colson Whitehead. It follows the bond of two young African American boys who are sent to an abusive reform school in Florida in the 1960s. While fictional, Nickel Boys is based on true accounts of the horrors of these schools in the Jim Crow South.
Even while watching on my laptop instead of a theatre screen, it is clear that the cinematography is special. The immersive perspective of the camera makes you feel important and puts you in the main characters’ shoes. There is a first person video game sensation that at first feels artistic, but as it carries me through I feel the motivation slipping.
It is an uncomfortable watch with both weight of the story as well as the artistic choices. They switch perspectives so it takes getting used to. There are difficult scenes with dark sounds and painful imagery that are sometimes put right in front of our faces, but more often hidden from us. This limited view is interesting, forcing us to fill in the blanks.
The performances are good, especially of the young boys Elwood (Ethan Herisse) and Turner (Brandon Wilson). The flash forward scenes remind us how people continue to deal with past trauma as an adult. The honor and strength of friendship is a theme.