RaMell Ross’ “Nickel Boys” has been nominated for two Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Based on Colson Whitehead’s novel of the same name the 2024 film is Ross’ first foray into the world of narrative filmmaking.
“Nickel Boys” tells the story of a reform school in the Jim Crow South, detailing the journey of two Black teenage boys as they face a multitude of trials and tribulations brought about by those in power. The film is an awe-inspiring display of the resilience of the human spirit, but even more stunning are the methods in which Ross decides to tell this story.
Ross’ previous film, “Hale County, This Morning, This Evening,” is an Academy Award-nominated documentary feature film that intimately details the lives of the African-American community in Hale County, Ala. While the commonalities in theme and presentation between his previous film and “Nickel Boys” are clear, Ross finds a way, even while confined to a semi-formulaic narrative structure, to craft something truly unique.
The conceit of “Nickel Boys” is that it is shot entirely from the perspective of its two lead characters, shifting between the two whenever it is necessary or emotionally relevant. In short, we see what the lead characters see and not much more.
The mere thought of being tasked with directing a film with such technical barriers makes me shudder. The essence of a film being restricted to the point of view of its two leading roles would seem to limit what can be achieved, but as the film progresses it becomes exceedingly more evident that Ross thrives within the confines of this toolbox he has assembled for himself.
In an interview with Associated Press News, Ross spoke about the film’s influences and the reasons for the film’s technical choices.
“It’s an ode to looking out of the eyes of those whose eyes have been owned by others and whose perception has been managed by others,” Ross said.
Whitehead’s novel, much like the film, is a story of perspective. The film’s audience witnesses traumatic events unfold through the eyes of two young men who have very different ideals regarding the powers that be and, more specifically, how they will navigate a world in which the odds are stacked against them.
The film’s cinematographer, Jomo Fray, also spoke with AP News regarding the film’s unique challenges and technical achievements.
“The image is an invitation for the viewer to really place themselves in a body that they may or may not recognize,” Fray said. “For two hours, you truly are walking in the shoes of another person.”
More so than any other film I have encountered, “Nickel Boys” is a plea to those watching to embrace the thought of experiencing something new. Unwillingness to learn is what stops films like this from being made. Furthermore, an unwillingness to learn stokes the flames of bigotry and ignorance that the film’s very thematic ideas rest upon.
Bigotry that the film details is not some amorphous, made-up concoction from a far away land that has long since died out. Instead, it is an ongoing truth that has reared its ugly head as recently as 2009 at the University of Mississippi when a dozen members of the Ku Klux Klan protested Chancellor Dan Jones’ decision to remove the song “From Dixie with Love” from the Pride of the South marching band’s repertoire.
This is one example of a truth that all university students, many of which are African-American, are forced to face in some fashion. At the very least, we owe it to each other to be knowledgeable of these truths. At most, we owe it to ourselves to stand up against said truths.
Films like “Nickel Boys” are not an answer to the confusion of the world, but a tool. When wielded correctly, I believe these tools can have quite an effect.
“We have only begun to scratch the very surface of what cinema is capable of,” Fray said. “Cinema is a language that shares a language with our dreams. We’re still at the infancy of this as an artistic art form.”
