Nickel Boys - A Review

I cried too much to bother with jokes today.

That’s the boys from Nickel Academy aka Hell on Earth

My mother and father were born in 1960 and 1961 respectively. They weren't old enough to get involved in any civil rights activism, but they were old enough to be extremely sad when Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. were murdered. They were certainly there where almost all encounters with the police for any reason would leave you dead or in jail, rather than some like we have today.

Both of my parents grew up in Mississippi. I'd often hear stories of how the first thing my mother saw on television when she was 9, and the first thing she saw was James Brown. I would hear my father saying "getting his ass tore up" by Big Daddy for kicking a hole in the wall to show off his Bruce Lee skills. They told these stories as if they were funny when I was a child. That's how we as Black people deal with trauma, and why many of us avoid therapy to this day. It's easier to laugh trauma off than push through it.

I feel like I was fortunate to grow up in a more solid future out in Katy, Texas. It was so solid, I didn't even remember when the white kids I grew around were being racist. That happened a lot more than I thought, looking back. Plus, I didn't want to upset anyone or start any fights due to how I was raised. Adults said I was well-behaved. I was considered a "good kid" by many, and the reason for that was until I was eight years old, many problems at home were solved with a belt. That's how my father grew up and it took him finishing college before he found another way to raise my sister and myself. We were thankful for that.

I used to get so upset with them for not letting me do things with my friends. I couldn't play "flashlight tag" or go to "lockins" at the skating rink where they lock you in to skate all night. Back then I didn't understand. It took a few years and being called the N-word by some white kids popping shots with a BB gun before I understood. Nickel Boys brought me even closer to that feeling. The unfairness of that teen experience. I don't think I’ve ever cried that so hard watching a movie.

Nickel Boys is a story about a group of teens growing up in the South during the Jim Crow era. That was before Black people had the right to self-determination that white people enjoyed. It was the era where Black people couldn't vote, looked down when encountering white people, and had to build their own towns and homes with nothing but the sweat of their brow. The Jim Crow era was essentially "slavery light." The attitude was "Do the work or we'll hang you" and there wasn't any choice but to comply. I feel fortunate to have been born after these times, but if Elon Musk and his dual nazi salute taught me anything, I wasn't born as far ahead as I thought. I used to argue that racism was a thing of the past, but poor little me was as wrong as can be.

What is Nickel Boys about?

In Nickel Boys, directed by RaMell Ross, we watch a black kid named Elwood (Ethan Herisse) grow up. He goes from watching oranges in a tree as a youth to growing up, starting school, and finding himself a girlfriend to take pictures with. Elwood's grades are so good, he even gets a shot to go to a free semester at a trade school in another town. Elwood is such a nice kid and "he practically raised himself."

Similar to A Complete Unknown the only way for less fortunate folks to get where the bus doesn't go is to hitchhike. While walking off on the side of a road, a Black man pulls over and offers Elwood a ride. They're moving along just fine until a Florida police officer pulls him over. Turns out this driver with the fancy shoes and shiny bracelet stole that car. We don't know what happened to him, but Elwood is forced to go to Nickel Academy, a reform school for young men written about in a book by Colin Whitehead.

Nickel Academy is awful. It's not a place for a young man like Elwood or anyone else to grow up. It's a good thing he's able to create a friendship with Turner who's been there for a while. They have different views on life, but when you're in hell, you take whatever friends you can get.

That sounds super sad.

It is, but in a way... its worth it. I went into this movie cold, so there are a lot of moments I left out because I don't want to ruin the experience for those with the temerity to witness it for themselves. There are a lot of parts that made me bawl I also left out. In some ways, Nickel Boys is an experiment. There are many references to space and a desire to meet MLK before he passes away. There are dream states, different perspectives, and glimpses of the future. RaMell Ross put together quite a film. All of this movie was shot in first person like a game of Halo. I didn't even know that until someone at the Alamo Drafthouse told me. It almost made me ask for my money back, but that would have been wrong because Nickel Boys is worth it.

Should I see "Nickel Boys"

Let's break this down a little differently this time.

Should I see this film if I'm white?

Absolutely. Learn a bit more about what your ancestors were up to. This is knowledge you can choose to make peace with now rather than later. It will be hard for you to see how your grandparents, cousins, uncles, and parents acted back then, but you need to know. You need to see it for yourself. You need to feel that pain and get over it whenever you can.

Should I see this film if I'm Black?

If you want. This movie will make you sad. It's up for two Oscars this year which is great. However, we deal with this pain every day. This movie will hurt you. It will make you cry. Nickel Boys is a monster. A beautiful one, but a monster all the same. Again, it’s good I saw it, but I’m also tired of this type of movie impressing people enough to be in the Oscar hunt. Maybe comedies don’t belong at the Academy Awards, but they should.

Should I see this movie if I'm Latinx?

You can see if you like social horror movies. If you want to learn about the U.S. and what we might be headed back to with our current president and ICE agents being able to enter churches, schools, and playgrounds to grab people and send them back to where they came from, check this out. I think the ability to learn from this film is universal but might be based on how dark you are and how white you’re trying to be.

Should I see this movie if I'm any other U.S. Minority?

I used "minority" for a reason because that’s how the white establishment thinks of us. Watching a film about the Jim Crow era will show you a lot about slavery and how white people "were back then." If you love Black culture, listen to rap, or steal dances from Black girls, watch this film and see the pain of the past that creates the art you love. If you want to dive further into your white side, feel free to leave Nickel Boys alone.

Anything else?

Learning more about my parents’ upbringing from a movie I watched on a lark is incredible. I want you to have the same feeling that I had, but I don't want anyone to be hurt by this film. The acting is great. The characters seem real. The unfairness of all this is palpable. Slavery was worse, but Jim Crow was bad in similar ways. Black people weren't allowed to vote until 1966. My parents were alive during that time. Even that idea is painful. I'm glad I learned so much from Nickel Boys, but almost hate that I did. It laid me and my Blackness bare... but it was worth it.