Review: Nickel Boys

8 March, 2025 William Eguizabal 0 Comments 2 categories

Title: Nickel Boys
MPA Rating: PG-13
Director: RaMell Ross
Starring: Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor
Runtime: 2 hrs 20 mins

What It Is: Elwood (Herisse) is a smart, driven young man, raised by his unflappable grandmother, Hattie (Ellis-Taylor). When he finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, he is sent to the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys—a place that would later be known for the trauma and horror it inflicted on those who endured it. Now, in a more contemporary setting, an adult Elwood (Daveed Diggs) must come to terms with the lasting scars of his time at the now-defunct school.

What We Think: This film is a gorgeous yet heartbreaking experience. There’s so much to be said about what RaMell Ross has crafted here. A deep sadness permeates every frame—something somber, almost as if you’re bracing for an inevitable doom. And yet, amid the violence and hatred of the era in which the story unfolds, there is undeniable beauty. That beauty comes from Elwood and the other Nickel Boys, who, despite everything, refuse to be completely broken. They are a true light shining in a world of darkness.

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor embodies the grandmother we’d all love to have—stern but fair, loving yet straightforward. Elwood is seen as a good kid, and that’s because of Grandma Hattie.

Our Grade: A, The best word to describe this film? Immense. The emotion—immense. The consequences of a single action—immense. The storytelling—immense. There’s a profound weight to this story, and the young actors at its core do an incredible job of guiding us through it.

RaMell Ross is a talent to watch. Anyone who can adapt a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and turn it into a Best Picture nominee fully deserves to be a name on everyone’s lips in Hollywood.

Check this one out immediately.