Chronicles the powerful friendship between two young Black teenagers navigating the harrowing trials of reform school together in Florida.
- Harm to children
- Sexual violence
Log it
Sign in to log this.
Character
Grave, contemplative, prestige and overwhelming.
- gravecomic
- contemplativerelentless
- unpretentiousprestige
- cooloverwhelming
- warmbleak
Who loves it, who doesn't
No profiled raters yet.
Where do you stand?
Answer first; then see how everyone, and your circle, split.
“Is Nickel Boys emotionally manipulative?”
Sign in to answer.
Be the first to answer.
“Is Ethan Herisse the best thing in Nickel Boys?”
Sign in to answer.
Be the first to answer.
“Is the slow pace a feature rather than a flaw?”
Sign in to answer.
Be the first to answer.
Ask the title
A yes-or-no question, answered from what people wrote here, on TMDB and on Wikipedia. Never made up.
Reviews
No reviews yet.
Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- r96skon TMDB · Mar 20257/10
<em>'Nickel Boys'</em> is too slow paced and overly stylistic for my personal liking, but there is no doubting it has quality. I can understand the praise it has received, it's just not overly for me. A good film it still is, I don't have any major negatives despite the mild cons noted above. The performances of Ethan Herisse and Brandon Wilson are strong enough, admittedly I didn't really find much to connect with them aside from their predicament. The forced perspective that the movie is portrayed via doesn't help with that, as interesting a concept as it is. How I view it solely as a film doesn't really matter anyway, because it is good to see this get so much attention - if only to shed light on the harrowing reform school that the story is based upon. It's disturbing how many of those sorta places exist/ed around the world. Awful.
Read the whole review on TMDB - CinemaSerfon TMDB · Feb 20257/10
There are two really engaging performances on offer here as Ethan Herisse and Brandon Wilson deliver a powerful indictment of a Florida school for boys. Induced there with promises of innovative educational practices and no exorbitant fees, these lads arrive to discover that what they are attending is little better than a prison. Governed by brutality, starvation and violence, the boys have to conform to the demands of their boss “Spencer” (Hamish Linklater) or else life won’t be for the living. It’s worth pointing out that this isn’t just a school for black kids, all shapes and sizes are used and abused here and even if the authorities do decide to make a rudimentary visit, nobody ever dares to step out of line. It’s told using a combination of timelines, so there’s not so much actual jeopardy for the two characters, but what we do see is just how each struggled to come to terms with their predicament in different ways, yet always managing to provide support for the other. As we build to the conclusion, the true extent of the horrors inflicted on these students becomes more appreciable and the production starts to mingle the drama with real-life photography, statistics and more ab
Read the whole review on TMDB - Brent Marchanton TMDB · Jan 20254/10
The artistic choices a director makes while working on a film often contribute much to the success or failure of the finished project. When these decisions aptly suit the nature of the production, they can transform a commendable picture into a cinematic masterpiece. But, when they fail at this, they can unduly get in the way, and such is the case with this debut narrative feature from writer-director RaMell Ross. Based on the 2020 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Colson Whitehead, the film tells the story of two young Black men, Ellwood (Ethan Herisse) and Turner (Brandon Wilson), who reside at the Nickel Academy, a fictional Florida reform school based on the infamous Dozier School for Boys, an institution known for its notoriously abusive treatment. Set in the 1960s against the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement, “Nickel Boys” depicts the horrendous atrocities inflicted upon the two friends and other “academy” residents, brutality that included acts of physical and sexual abuse, as well as the mysterious “disappearances” of those who fail to abide by the facility’s strict rules. This is obviously an important and troubling story, one that desperately needs to be told. But, des
Read the whole review on TMDB
Cast
- Ethan HerisseElwood
- Brandon WilsonTurner
- Aunjanue Ellis-TaylorHattie
- Hamish LinklaterSpencer
- Gralen Bryant BanksBlakeley
- Fred HechingerHarper
- Jimmie FailsMr. Hill
- Luke TennieGriff
- Bryan Gael GuzmanJaime
- Ethan Cole SharpYoung Elwood
Crew
- RaMell RossDirector
- RaMell RossScreenplay
- Joslyn BarnesScreenplay
- Jomo FrayDirector of Photography
- Scott AlarioOriginal Music Composer
- Alex SomersOriginal Music Composer
- Nicholas MonsourEditor
- Joslyn BarnesProducer
- Dede GardnerProducer
- Jeremy KleinerProducer
Where to watch
Checking availability…
Similar in taste
Closest on the same fourteen dimensions, from everything scored on Tastebuds Other media included when they land close.
The Zone of Interest 202381% alikeBoth grave, contemplative, prestige.
The Power of the Dog 202181% alikeBoth grave, contemplative, prestige.
The Master 201279% alikeBoth grave, contemplative, prestige.
At Eternity's Gate 201878% alikeBoth grave, contemplative, prestige.
Spencer 202178% alikeBoth grave, contemplative, prestige.
Meek's Cutoff 201177% alikeBoth grave, contemplative, prestige.
A Hidden Life 201977% alikeBoth grave, contemplative, prestige.
2073 202476% alikeBoth grave, contemplative, prestige.
Television · Both grave, contemplative, prestige.
Beloved 198773% alikeBook · Both grave, contemplative, prestige.
Often watched with
Recommendations from TMDB. Opening one adds it to Tastebuds
