Despite the sweep forAnora, most of this year’sBest Picture nominees went home with awards. Golden Globe favoriteThe Brutalistwent home with three, followed byEmelia Perez,Dune: Part II, andWickedeach garnering two, and lastly,I’m Still Here,Conclave, andThe Substanceall left with one award. The only snubs were the robustly nominatedA Complete Unknown(better luck next year,Timmy), and a smaller film that only scored one other nomination:Nickel Boys. The latter film, a debut narrative feature from documentarianRaMell Ross, came into award season with a high degree of pedigree. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel byColson Whitehead,Nickel Boysbegan amassing huge critical acclaim after premiering on the festival circuit, but sadly, this did not translate to the awards. While two Oscar nominations are nice,Nickel Boysdeserved to win Oscars it wasn’t even nominated for.
Following two boys at an abusive reform school for juvenile delinquents,Nickel Boysused its filmmaking to makeits narrativeentirely immersive.Ross and co-writerJoslyn Barnesmade the decision to tell the story from a first-person point of view, through the eyes of its two protagonists. It is a bold and risky decision that could not have been pulled off without exceptional work from cinematographerJomo Fray. Fray has an incredible eye for imagery and never makes his camera movements unnecessarily flashy. In a film comprised of long takes, it would be easy to show off with trick photography, but Fray and the filmmakers refrain.Despite it being a stand-out technique, it never distracts from the intent of seeing the world ofNickel Boysthrough the characters' eyes.Once the audience adjusts to the cinematic language, it feels completely natural. This creative choice wouldn’t have worked without Jomo Fray’s lensing, but also needed explicit writing to capture this worldview.
Adapting ‘Nickel Boys’ Went Above And Beyond the Typical Screenplay
Once the decision of a point of view perspective had been made, Ross and Barnes had to commit to it on the page.The screenplay forNickel Boysspecifically constructs its images from what the audience is seeing, to what they are hearing, to how the images flow together.Screenplays are more often meant to be seen as blueprints for directors and other craftspeople on set to build upon, but forNickel Boysto work, Ross and Barnes had to consider the positions of the characters, the details of the set, how the camera would move, and exactly what the audience is seeing in every moment. Above all,it still had to include the poetic tone and lyrical nature that would translate to the screen to convey its vision to anyone needing to read it.Conclaveis an excellent translation of a novel to the screen (andPeter Straughanwas the only solo screenwriter nominated in a field of writer-directors), but it is far fromNickel Boys’s inventiveness when it came to adaptation. That said, the most egregious snub is at the top.
RaMell Ross Should Have Been a Best Director Nominee
With all due respect to the five people nominated for Best Director, the Academy should have replaced one of them with RaMell Ross.Ross’s bold creative movecould have easily been seen as a gimmick or, worse, failed in its execution. It took a skillful collaborator to pull together all the elements and make Colson Whitehead’s novel come alive in such an unexpected way. To approach the material this way, Ross had to make specific choices abouthow he directed the actors, how he constructed the shots, and what music would take the audience through a film that included interludes of non-linear imagery and multiple timelines!Any choice not as carefully considered could have steered the whole film off balance.Ross succeeds though, and it is a testament to his directorial vision. Film is a director’s medium and Ross left more of an imprint than some of the nominees that did make the cut, and it is a shame his work went unrecognized.
Two nominations were far below whatNickel Boyswas worthy of.The Production Design, Sound, Costumes, and Score could all have been contenders, and the always reliableAunjanue Ellis-Taylorshould have been nominated for Best Supporting Actress! Thankfully, the two nominations did give the filma boost at the box office, and will likely convince people to check it out now that it is streaming at home as well. The value of the Oscars is shining a light on smaller films, but sometimes the most impactful movies aren’t properly appreciated in their time.Nickel Boysis more than its too few Oscar nominations,withBarry Jenkinstelling Variety that the film"is medium-defining work — aesthetically, spiritually — a rich and overwhelming cinema where the camera is always curious and what it finds is always arresting. In a time where there are more ways to make a film than ever, RaMell has given us a new way of seeing."
Nickel Boysis available to stream on MGM+ in the U.S.
Nickel Boys
Set in Jim Crow-era Florida, two Black teens, Elwood Curtis and Turner, endure the brutal conditions of Nickel Academy, a reformatory for boys. While Turner teaches survival through cynicism, Elwood clings to his belief in justice, despite the horrors around them. Their friendship offers a glimmer of hope amidst a backdrop of systemic racism and violence.
