Ever since I read “The Nickel Boys” my senior year of high school, it’s been my go-to book I recommend to anyone and everyone—I always thought I’d make it into a film, but someone beat me to it.
From the genius mind of Colson Whitehead, the story follows Elwood Curtis, studious and on the road to getting a college education, who is wrongfully sent to Nickel Academy. This is where he meets Turner, a survivalist at Nickel. The story follows these two Black teenagers in the ‘60s who become friends after both being sent to the abusive reform school.
This film is different from anything I’ve ever seen because it was shot in first-person perspective, meaning everything you see on screen is how the characters see what’s right in front of them.
I understand the purpose of first-person is to create a bond between the audience and characters, like walking in their shoes, but ultimately, I was not a fan.
What I liked
I chose to read “The Nickel Boys” during my AP English class and fell in love with this gut wrenching story. I had no prior knowledge of Whitehead’s work and randomly decided to pick it up.
Because the story takes place in the Jim Crow era southern U.S., there are depictions of racism, segregation and abuse. Surrounding this overarching theme lies a blossoming friendship between two 17 year olds—and that’s where the magic happens. My favorite memories from when I was a teenager come from the friends I had and still have to this day, and that’s partly why I love this story.
Because this was shot first-person, it gave me a clearer idea of what that friendship meant to Elwood and Turner, and how it was one of the only good things in life at Nickel. This perspective felt more personal, like I was walking in their shoes. Through this, I came to understand how they relied on each other and how much they trusted each other.
This also meant during scenes that contained abuse, we weren’t witnessing the abuse directly—instead, we were seeing it from the perspective of the abused teenager. I don’t care to see abuse in a film, so I admire this use of first-person.
Watching first-person is strange at first because it’s not common in the movie industry, but I did feel the connection between characters because it was like I was personally interacting with them.
There’s a reason why people say the eyes are the window to the soul, and that’s because the eyes show pain and despair more than any other physical aspect. Watching this film, you could feel the boys’ angst.
The two young men who play Elwood and Turner, Ethan Herisse and Brandon Wilson, had to adjust to looking straight into the camera, when traditionally as an actor, you NEVER look at the camera. I was impressed with their ability to make that feel natural, like they were reaching beyond the camera lens to communicate with the audience.
Also, I adore this story because there’s a HUGE plot twist at the end, where as an audience, you come to understand just how deeply rooted Elwood and Turner’s friendship is, which leads me to what I disliked about first-person perspective.
What I didn’t like
There were moments when the perspective would switch from Elwood’s to Turner’s, and as an audience member, you wouldn’t know that until later in a scene. So, sometimes I would get mixed up with whose perspective I was seeing.
While I enjoyed being able to connect with the characters by seeing their point of view, the plot twist at the end was less effective through first-person perspective, which is a letdown. I absolutely will not spoil this twist, but I will say we discover Turner shares far more in common with Elwood than we ever realized.
If I didn’t previously know the twist, I would’ve been SO confused because nothing is explicitly said, but rather shown on screen.
The problem with first-person is you have to infer information because it’s not being told to you by a narrator. If you don’t know the story from “The Nickel Boys,” you will not understand how the movie ends because the film doesn’t straight up tell you what happens.
It would’ve been more effective to have a narrator. With a narrator, audiences who aren’t familiar with the story can still understand what’s happening, but without narration, you HAVE to know the story. Though there were aspects of first-person I thoroughly enjoyed, I wish at the very least the ending was filmed with a narrator.
The verdict
If you haven’t read “The Nickel Boys” or plan on watching it without any prior information, I’d strongly advise against that. This film is a love letter to the fans and to the people who already know the plot twist and don’t need an explanation.
I’m giving “Nickel Boys” a three out of five stars, and before I say it’s a must-see, you need to understand it’s a must-READ. Make sure you do your research BEFORE you watch it, or you’ll have more questions than answers.
