Nickel Boys is set in Jim Crow-era Florida and follows two black teenagers, Elwood Curtis and Turner, who must endure the brutal and painful conditions of the Nickel Academy. Despite all the horrors that surround them, Elwood always seems to believe that justice will prevail, while Turner teaches survival through cynicism. Their friendship makes this film exceptionally powerful.
Newcomers Ethan Herisse and Brandon Wilson Elwood and Turner in Nickel Boyswhich also stars Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and Daveed Diggs. Director RaMell Ross chose to tell this story in a unique way that makes the audience truly feel like they are experiencing things alongside the boys. His decision to shoot the film in point-of-view style makes it one of the highlights of the year. Nickel Boys It is based on a book inspired by a true story. It's now playing in New York theaters and opens in Los Angeles on December 20.
TelaRant interviewed Ross about Nickel Boys and what inspired his decision to shoot point-of-view style. Ross also discussed finding the perfect cast, especially Ethan Herisse as Elwood and Brandon Wilson as Turner, because the film wouldn't work without their chemistry. Finally, the director detailed one of the film's main scenes.
Filming Nickel Boys in POV style was the first decision RaMell Ross made
“During my photography practice, I conceived a point-of-view film, but I never actually had a place for it.”
ScreenRant: The POV perspective really puts the viewer into the story. Can you talk about when you made that decision and what inspired it?
RaMell Ross: The decision to shoot point of view was the first decision, and what inspired it is multifaceted. I think I can touch on a few points. One is the nature of POV being the most familiar way I see the world. And the characters being very similar to me and being able to imagine, literally alongside them, while reading.
Additionally, I have an art practice and have been taking photos in Hale County, Alabama, and the South for over a decade. During my photography practice, I envisioned a point-of-view film, but I never had a place for it, actually, and I just felt like it would be some art project. Because it seemed to me that making, quoting, unquoting, point of view specifically from the precision of a black man or a black person or a person of color was an intervention, if not a statement, in the relationship between the cameraman and people of color around the world.
When Ethan Herisse and Brandon Wilson met in person, the filmmakers knew they had a movie
“I guess we have to ask ourselves, did I find them or did they find me?”
ScreenRant: The movie doesn't really work without the chemistry between Ethan and Brandon. Can you talk about how to find them?
RaMell Ross: Well, I guess we have to ask ourselves did I find them or did they find me? I said it so dramatically. Genuinely, they stood out. It's like you're looking at a field of trees and there's a tree you can't take your eyes off of, or a cloud that's more pronounced, or something that draws us to it.
I can talk about your individual qualities, but we don't have time. I will say, though, that they are exceptional in their casting tapes. And in person, they are even more exceptional. The combination of the two is when I think everyone and every producer knew we had a movie.
White House scene previews what's to come…but it wasn't planned
“It was an opportunity to connect the visual language here with the visual language we would eventually see.”
ScreenRant: Can you talk about the White House scene and filming? Because it almost looks like Elwood is detaching himself from his body.
RaMell Ross: Nobody ever said that. Thanks. Yes. It's so obvious. I'm like, “Hey, guys, he's literally… Let's go.” It envisions being separated from oneself, the out-of-body experience of not being whole or complete or present that, of course, is Daveed's adult Elwood's entire life, until he comes to terms with what happened during all the digging he did.
It was definitely a groundbreaking moment when this became a thing because it wasn't planned. It was something that happened throughout the shot list and going to the White House and the camera tour and then I realized that it was an opportunity to connect the visual language here with the visual language that we would eventually see. I'm not going to say that it inspired Daveed, but it clarifies it for the attentive observer, you know?
More about Nickel Boys (2024)
Elwood Curtis' college dream crumbles on the side of a two-lane Florida highway. Bearing the brunt of an innocent misstep, he is condemned to the underworld of Nickel Academy, a brutal reformatory sunk deep in the Jim Crow South. He finds another pupil, Turner who has seen it all. The two black teenagers form an alliance: Turner offering fundamental tips for survival, Elwood clinging to his optimistic worldview. Against the backdrop of the growing Civil Rights Movement, Elwood and Turner's existence seems worlds away from the polished oratory of the Rev. Martin Luther King. Despite Nickel's brutality, Elwood struggles to maintain his humanity, awakening new vision for Turner.
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Source: Screen Rant Plus