Why the harrowing movie ‘Nickel Boys’ doesn’t show racist abuse

NEW YORK – “Nickel Boys” is unlike any movie you’ll see this year.
Adapted from Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, the lyrical drama follows two Black teens in the 1960s South – the bookish Elwood (Ethan Herisse) and worldly-wise Turner (Brandon Wilson) – as they navigate a brutal, racist reform school, where kids are severely beaten and sexually abused. The story is inspired by the now-closed Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, Florida, where dozens of unmarked graves were uncovered on the property in the last decade.
“Nickel Boys” is unique in its experimental approach to the harrowing subject, literally placing the audience in Elwood’s and Tucker’s shoes for nearly the entire two-hour film. The movie unfolds from their alternating first-person perspectives: When Elwood’s grandma (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) hugs him, she’s actually embracing the camera, and when the boys talk to each other, they look directly into the lens.
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It’s a bold approach that’s both visually striking and jarring at times. But the cumulative impact is overwhelmingly emotional, as director RaMell Ross immerses the viewer in these characters’ trauma and resilience.
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Speaking to journalists on Friday ahead of the movie’s New York Film Festival premiere, Ross said he wanted to explore ideas of authorship and erasure, and who gets to tell Black stories.
Reading Whitehead’s book, “POV was the first thing I thought of,” Ross explained. “I was thinking about when Elwood realized he was a Black person. Coming into the world, and then being confronted with what the world says you are – I was like, ‘Oh, that’s quite poetic.’ It’s like looking-glass theory,” where someone’s sense of self is informed by how they believe others view them.
Herisse (Netflix’s “When They See Us”) told reporters about the challenge of making a movie that’s shot from such an unusual vantage point.
“It’s nothing like anything that anyone on this stage has experienced before,” said Herisse, who was joined by co-stars including Wilson, Ellis-Taylor and “Hamilton” alum Daveed Diggs. “When you start acting, one of the first things you learn is don’t look into the camera. It’s not something you’re supposed to acknowledge, whereas in this experience, you always have to be when you’re talking. So it’s a bit of unlearning and finding a way to (authentically) connect.”
“Nickel Boys” is Ross’ first narrative film, after breaking out in 2018 with his Oscar-nominated documentary “Hale County This Morning, This Evening.” His nonfiction background is at the forefront of the movie, using photographs, news reels and historical documents to help illustrate the tumultuous atmosphere of civil rights-era America. But Ross rarely depicts onscreen violence: In the few scenes where students are abused by school staffers, he instead lets the camera linger on walls, lights and other objects the boys might fixate on in the moment.  
“When people go through traumatic things, they’re not always looking in the eye of evil,” Ross said. “You look where you look and those impressions become proxies, which then become sense memories in your future life. So we wanted to think about, ‘Where do people look?’ … To me, that’s more visceral and devastating and memorable than seeing Elwood hit.”
“Nickel Boys” will open in select theaters Oct. 25. It’s the opening night movie of the New York Film Festival, where A-listers including Cate Blanchett (“Rumours”), Angelina Jolie (“Maria”), Selena Gomez (“Emilia Pérez”) and Elton John (“Never Too Late”) will be on hand to screen their awards hopefuls in the coming days.