Nickel Boys
2024
***½
Director: RaMell Ross
Cast: Aunjanue Ellis, Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, Fred Hechinger, Hamish Linklater, Josh Hamilton, Jeffrey Wright, André Holland, Caleb McLaughlin, Regina King
After getting in the wrong car, college-bound 17-year-old Elwood is sent to a reform school called Nickel Academy. He befriends Turner, a rebellious youth, who helps him to navigate the cruel, racist, and abusive institution. RaMell Ross' heartbreaking drama was adapted from Colson Whitehead's 2019 novel and Nickel Academy is based on Dozier School for Boys, a real-life reform school in Florida where dozens of boys were found buried in unmarked graves. Ross has shot his feature debut entirely from the first-person perspective of its two protagonists. This is a bold and unusual but somewhat distracting and distancing artistic choice, and perhaps that is why the grim finale didn't move me as much as I expected. Considering how simple the story is, the film is a bit too long at 140 minutes.
