Seeing Through Their Eyes
| Title: | Nickel Boys |
| Watchable: |  |
| Director: | RaMell Ross |
| Writer: | RaMell Ross, Joslyn Barnes |
| Lead Performances: | Ethan Herisse (Elwood), Brandon Wilson (Turner), Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (Hattie) |
I do not understand how to describe stolen future experiences to people. RaMell Ross uses "Nickel Boys" to show readers the Jim Crow-era reform school horrors by letting them experience the world through the eyes of Black boys who faced racial discrimination in 1960s Florida.
The camera displays Elwood's point of view to the audience. Through his eyes we experience his grandmother's cozy kitchen while he walks to college before everything collapses on that fateful day. The Nickel Academy traps Elwood and other boys inside its walls which operates as a prison that forces Black children to perform slave labor while inflicting physical punishment for perceived misconduct. The first-person narrative approach should have felt like a trick but it produces an intense feeling of closeness to the unjust treatment.
I needed to pause my breathing multiple times during the movie. Your field of view matches Elwood's as he explores the area while he fears what he might discover and your body experiences his fear. The experience of feeling another person's pain becomes overwhelming at times because of this forced emotional connection.
Turner appears in the story as a rescue character who uses his street experience and doubting attitude to oppose Elwood's positive perspective. The audience witnesses Brandon Wilson's performance through Elwood's perspective which reveals Turner only through short brief moments and quick glances. The camera shows Elwood in full view when it shifts to Turner's perspective which brings a sense of relief to the audience. The two boys experience each other completely in this space which was designed to erase their existence.
The actual thing which broke me apart from the numerous violent scenes that appeared throughout the story. The camera shows the daily erosion of dignity and possibility through its documentary-style depiction of small degrading moments which include stepping off sidewalks. Through his work Ross demonstrates that racism creates two types of harm: it inflicts brutal violence and it steals away the right to dignity and future prospects from people.
The film shows an adult Elwood reading news reports about Nickel Academy's abuse revelations and unmarked graves found on the property. The story follows a non-linear timeline which resembles human memory because it shifts between different periods with strong emotional significance. Survivors of trauma need to understand how to live with their past experiences while dealing with survivor's guilt because they made it through when others did not.
The car mirror reveals Elwood's reflection to him for a brief instant which shows how rare it is for Black suffering stories to let viewers experience Black perspectives instead of watching from outside. Our life experiences receive their most significant impact from the way we experience things. The film shows trauma as an individual experience which requires acknowledgment from others rather than seeking their sympathy.
The first-time narrative director Ross uses his documentary background to create an urgent visual style while employing an extreme experimental storytelling approach. Experimental storytelling with historical drama elements should not produce an effective narrative. The film creates a devastating impact through its experimental narrative structure which combines with historical drama elements.
The memory of those boys along with countless other boys who died in unmarked graves continues to haunt me. Through his work Ross creates a brief understanding of what it might have been like to experience life as those boys did. Through their eyes we experience the world. The knowledge that no rescue team would arrive to save you became your reality.
The dead require what form of justice to exist?The answer to this question becomes evident through this experience. The act of others understanding us creates justice for people who have experienced social exclusion. The act of others understanding us creates justice for people who have experienced disregard.
