Nickel Boys (2024) Dir: RaMell Ross

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I must admit, I do sometimes avoid these 'based on true events' hard-hitting dramas, mainly because a lot of them end up feeling like awards bait. This was pretty much the reason I took so long to watch this RaMell Ross directed drama, which was based on the 2019 novel; 'The Nickel Boys', by Colson Whitehead, and was subsequently nominated for Best Picture at the 2025 Oscars.

I wasn't expecting to be so impressed by the cinematography of this film, but I really was. The choice to use 'point-of-view' shots for almost the entire film could have backfired, but I thought that the film came across beautifully through the eyes of its protagonists. It was fairly simple, but, in conjunction with the unusual aspect ratio, the colour palette, and the generally soft camerawork, gave the film a dreamlike, rather gorgeous, look.

One of the most effective aspects of this film was how it showed some of the more distressing and unpleasant events of the story. A lot of it wasn't actually shown on-screen, but the implicit horror of it was extremely harrowing and impactful. I think this film is a tremendous example of not needing to show violence for it to be effective - something a lot of other films can learn from.

The narrative was emotionally devastating, especially during the last fifteen to twenty minutes. It had me teary-eyed on two particular occasions, one of which when the film explored some of the wider truth and context behind the story, which was absolutely heartbreaking. One minor complaint could be that the opening twenty minutes go a little too slowly, but that was all-but-forgotten by the time the credits rolled.

Ethan Herisse provided a beautiful portrayal of a naive, hopeful, innocent, and determined young man placed into a horrible situation. Herisse's soft-spoken, endearing acting was only matched when he turned up the intensity in the face of his character's adversity. This was such an emotionally challenging role for Herisse to perform, but I thought he made it look and feel easy for him. He was excellent.

Brandon Wilson supplied a different, slightly more grounded, performance, which was no less exemplary than Herisse's, but perhaps a little more under the radar, so-to-speak. His performance in the second half of the film in particular was wonderful. He deserves a lot of credit for the way he played his role.

There were definitely a few names from the supporting cast that were well worth mentioning, particularly Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, who was extremely sweet and emotive. I would also like to mention the likes of Hamish Linklater, Daveed Diggs, and Fred Hechinger, for their respective supporting performances, in some of the smaller roles in the film.

Overall, I was blown away by the emotional strength of this film. The true nature of the Nickel Academy is as sickening as it gets, which only works in this film's favour, from an emotional standpoint. This was an excellent drama, which absolutely gutted me with its still all-too-relevant and very poignant storytelling. The fact that a lot of the events in the film took place as recently as the late 1960's, and the fact that racism is still a major issue in the United States, as well as globally, should outrage all of us. This film shows us the horrors that occur behind closed doors when racism is allowed to exist in public spaces - something extremely relevant to events of today in the United States.