REVIEW: Filming method makes ‘Nickel Boys’ a let down

Maybe RaMell Ross films just aren’t my thing.

After helming the Academy Award-nominated documentary “Hale County This Morning, This Evening” in 2018, Ross has directed a narrative feature. His latest film, “Nickel Boys,” is an adaptation of a book with the same name that itself was inspired by a real reform school.

Set in the 1960s, “Nickel Boys” centers on two black teen boys, Elwood (Ethan Herisse) and Turner (Brandon Wilson). Both from different backgrounds, each boy finds themselves brought to a rough reform school called Nickel Academy. There the two become friends and try to make it through the system.  

I didn’t find Ross’ “Hale County” that compelling and unfortunately, it was the same case with his latest movie. In this case, a major problem is the way the entire movie is photographed.

When “Nickel Boys” gets underway, the audience is treated to a first-person point of view, and it seems like it’s a way to introduce the main characters through their personal experiences. Then the movie keeps going, and the rest of it is all in a first-person vantage point as well.

It’s certainly an audacious approach for this type of drama, but it doesn’t work. While there is artistic merit in how “Nickel Boys” was shot, with several strong visual moments, it doesn’t lend itself to the greater narrative at play.

This type of approach or something similar may have worked in the book (which I haven’t read), as the reader can create surroundings for a character in their head. However, doing so in a film makes things feel limited in scope, at least in this case.

First-person type films can work in some instances, especially in the found footage category, but it’s usually been in horror or action genres. It can capture an in-the-moment experience for a character in tense, urgent and chaotic situations. But that doesn’t apply as well in a quieter drama.

In “Nickel Boys,” whether we’re seeing things through Elwood and Turner, it always feels like a narrow perspective, even though it’s their shared experience. What the two go through actually feels less authentic, and less compelling as a result.

Mannerisms, facial expressions and a full idea of a character’s environment play a big role in connecting with what’s happening in many films, and it’s simply lacking here. In addition to having difficulty relating to the leads and their journey, the movie also doesn’t allow a viewer to know the supporting characters.

In many of these films set in some sort of detention center, there’s usually a group of supporting characters the audience can get to know. They can give a greater sense of what the world around the main story is like. It adds another layer, and there are a few good examples, such as fellow 2024 release “Sing Sing.” It’s a detriment to not have something like this.

This plays into another issue with the film, which are flash-forwards to the modern day as we follow-up with one of the protagonists as an adult. There’s a point where he runs into one of the others from the reform school and it’s hard to feel the impact of the scene because we didn’t spend much time with this individual.

With the first-person aspect at play, the scenes in the present day are also somewhat awkward and feel out of place. Again, this is something that probably worked better on a page, but needed to be reworked for the screen. 

Neither of the lead performers in the film bring an extensive amount of experience on screen to the table, but they were a bright spot in the movie. They do lend some needed personality to the picture. The supporting cast isn’t as memorable, though, and it doesn’t help that side characters are written rather generically for this kind of film.

“Nickel Boys” tells an important story and does so with a commendable attention to detail in its cinematography. However, the filmmaking method used to tell said story ultimately lets the movie down and the character-work is mixed. 2.5 out of 5.