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This review was originally published on September 27, 2024, out of the New York Film Festival.
On January 23, 2025,Nickel Boyswas nominated for two Oscars, including Best Picture.
Ive never seen anything like it, before or since.
But in Rosss hands, the conceit never feels like a gimmick, or a flourish.
Because hes fused it with the impressionistic sensibility ofHale County, it is now organic, immersive, essential.
Anyone whos read Whiteheads novel can tell you that its a sad and infuriating work.
Hes determined to excel and graduate, returning to the world outside and to his beloved grandmother.
An orange hangs from a tree.
A deck of cards is riffle-shuffled.
A bare knee lounges in a tub.
Christmas trees and imagined family talismans.
Subtly, we imagine Elwood through the filter of our own lives.
As a result, his gathering tragedy starts to feel like our own.
Its one of the most breathtaking things Ive ever experienced in a film.
This unique form of identification is at the heart of Rosss picture.
In fact, its been at the heart of his entire project as a filmmaker.
Nickel Boysis the kind of story that probably could have been adapted in more conventional fashion.
But theres something truer and more unshakable about what Ross has given us.
What he achieves here is more powerful and complex.
