By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: RaMell Ross
Starring: Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor | Ethan Cole Sharp | Jase Stidwell | Najah Bradley | Sam Malone
Year: 2024
Running time: 140
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23055660/reference/
Diane says: “Based on Colson Whitehead’s novel of the same name, NICKEL BOYS has an impressionistic and disorienting style. Early scenes are shot from the POV of main character Elwood–as though through his young eyes–and the landscape is often sideways or upside down. Gradually, we see Elwood himself.
“The story takes place in the 1960s. The ‘Nickel boys’ are kids sent to segregated Nickel Academy for misdemeanors. The conditions for the black kids are terrible, and they are abused by the staff and ‘teachers’ and often by each other. I found myself squeezing my hands and thinking, ‘Do I have to see this?’ The frequent gray screens increase a sense of anxiety and danger. The sound design intensifies the emotional discomfort, with snatches of ambient sound coming from all directions.
“A second narrative thread, inserted sparingly early on and then increasing, takes us up to the 2000s and we see the adult Elwood (or do we?), now obsessively following news of the exposure of Nickel Academy.
“There was a lot I didn’t understand, including some of the basics, and now I’m eager to read the book to see how it portrays this same journey.
“It’s one ore of the more difficult films I’ve seen lately. Both difficult in content and requiring a lot of effort from the viewer. I look forward to hearing from others about their response to it.
“4 cats. Nom for sound design, maybe adapted screenplay.
“Screened at Telluride-by-the-Sea.”
Nickel Boys