Nickel Boys (2024)

Shades of Moonlight and Fruitvale Station merge beautifully in this harrowing, unique experience . The POV approach of the camera may be jarring to some viewers, especially at first, but by the end of the movie, the stylistic choice pays off, and then some. Nickel Boys almost feels like a film lost in time, as though it belongs in the '50s or '60s, thanks to its grainy lens and unstable framing, but it’s a picture which transcends time in many ways. This is impactful, important cinema, and a story that reflects the modern era and days gone by all at once.

Sometimes a film will come along and change your perspective, but very rarely will a film come along that redefines the potential of cinema itself. Nickel Boys director RaMell Ross has managed to achieve exactly that, and in his feature debut, no less, with this story of two Black teens fighting to survive the hellish Nickel Academy. By plunging us directly into the POV of its two central characters, Nickel Boys asks us to feel everything all at once, from the horrors of injustice to the bond of love that one simple, unforgettable hug can bring. Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor especially is breathtaking