Why Oscar hopeful “Nickel Boys” is like no film you’ve ever seen

NEW YORK — “Nickel Boys” is unlike any other movie you’ll see this year.

Adapted from Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, the lyrical drama follows two black teenagers in the 1960s South – bookworm Elwood (Ethan Herisse) and urbane Turner (Brandon Wilson) – as they find themselves in a brutal, racist reform school Finding your way around Children are severely beaten and sexually abused. The story is inspired by the now-closed Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, Florida, where dozens of unmarked graves were uncovered on the property over the last decade.

“Nickel Boys” is unique in its experimental approach to the harrowing subject matter, literally putting the audience in Elwood and Tucker’s shoes for almost the entire two-hour film. The film unfolds from alternating first-person perspectives: When Elwood’s grandma (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) hugs him, she’s actually hugging the camera, and when the boys talk to each other, they look directly into the lens.

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It’s a bold approach that’s both visually striking and sometimes jarring. But the overall effect is overwhelmingly emotional, as director RaMell Ross immerses the viewer in the trauma and resilience of these characters.

Speaking to reporters Friday before the film’s premiere at the New York Film Festival, Ross said he wanted to explore ideas of authorship and erasure and who gets to tell black stories.

When I read Whitehead’s book, “POV was the first thing I thought of,” Ross explained. “I thought about it when Elwood realized he was black. Coming into the world and then being confronted with what the world says about you – I thought, “Oh, that’s pretty poetic.” It’s like a “mirror theory” where a person’s self-image depends on how she believes that others see her.

Herisse (Netflix series “When They See Us”) told reporters about the challenge of making a film shot from such an unusual angle.

“It’s nothing like anything anyone has experienced on this stage before,” said Herisse, who was joined by co-stars Wilson, Ellis-Taylor and “Hamilton” alum Daveed Diggs. “When you start acting, the first thing you learn is not to look at the camera. It’s not something to admit, whereas in this experience you always have to be when you speak. So it’s a little bit of unlearning and finding a way to make an (authentic) connection.”

“Nickel Boys” is Ross’ first narrative feature following his breakthrough 2018 Oscar-nominated documentary “Hale County This Morning, This Evening.” His nonfiction background is at the forefront of the film, and he uses photographs, news reels, and historical documents to illustrate the turbulent atmosphere of civil rights-era America. But Ross rarely shows violence on screen: In the few scenes in which students are abused by school staff, he instead lets the camera linger on walls, lights, and other objects the boys might be focusing on at the time.

“When people go through traumatic things, they don’t always look into the eyes of evil,” Ross said. “You look wherever you look, and these impressions become proxies, which then become sensory memories in your future life. So we wanted to think about, ‘Where are people looking?’… To me, that’s more powerful, more devastating and more memorable than seeing Elwood hit.”

“Nickel Boys” opens in select theaters on October 25th. It is the opening film of the New York Film Festival, with stars such as Cate Blanchett (“Rumours”), Angelina Jolie (“Maria”) and Selena Gomez (“Emilia Pérez”) and Elton John (“Never Too Late”) appearing in will be on site in the coming days to demonstrate their prize candidates.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Colson Whitehead’s Nickel Boys is now a “devastating” film