0:03
nickel boy is about a a a young black
0:08
gentleman named Elwood Curtis and his
0:11
college dreams are shattered when he is
0:14
sentenced to Nickel Academy it's a
0:17
Reformatory School in the Jim Crow South
0:20
and he tries to remain optimistic in
0:25
light of being what is effectively
0:28
almost a a sort of soft version of a
0:31
prison and is looking just to survive as
0:35
a young black man in the South and
0:38
before you roll your eyes I'll just say
0:41
this we've seen this movie before about
0:44
racism it's a period piece so it's uh
0:47
the 50s era contextually correct yeah
0:51
yeah so it's so it's in context the
0:53
racism is like that's of the time um
0:56
there's a really poignant scene where
0:58
the um you see uh well we'll talk about
1:01
this in a second they get books they get
1:05
uh hand me down textbooks the the kids
1:09
that are in the school and in the
1:11
textbooks are things that the white kids
1:15
wrote of horribly racist images some
1:19
involving nues and whatnot so it it I
1:24
believe it accurately portrays that era
1:27
because plenty of evidence exists
1:30
there there was uh quite a bit of racism
1:33
in that period of time we've seen this
1:36
movie before we've seen movies about
1:39
that era of time we've seen everything
1:42
from Mississippi Burning um kind of a a
1:45
mystery thriller we've seen different
1:47
types of movies set in this time dealing
1:50
with this kind of racism and the
1:52
director raml Ross must have been aware
1:56
that because his approach is what makes
2:01
noteworthy uh working with
2:06
Frey which I think probably the be one
2:09
of some of the best cinematography of
2:11
the year in this film okay because the
2:15
approach is what makes this film
2:19
unique raml Ross shot this
2:26
firstperson video game a firstperson
2:31
where you you are the one that um I it's
2:37
I'm I'm trying to remember how often or
2:40
if you see uh Elwood Curtis but it's
2:42
like you see the movie through his eyes
2:45
the camera is the character you are the
2:49
character it's at first kind of it's
2:53
strange you get so used to it it makes
2:56
everything that happens so so
3:00
powerful in a a a kind of movie and
3:04
material and a subject matter that has
3:08
death um is such a unique way to tell
3:12
this story I was riveted I think it's
3:15
very important and the way he puts you
3:20
in the eyes of the protagonist is
3:23
incredibly unique we've seen the only
3:25
movie I can think of that's like it is
3:27
you remember an action movie called
3:29
hardcore Harry yeah I mean was it
3:32
hardcore Harry or hardore it was
3:33
Hardcore Harry yes yeah hardcore Harry
3:36
I'm GNA look it up to make sure I get
3:38
that right um no it was Henry hardore
3:42
Henry from 2015 is an entire movie where
3:46
you hardcore Henry you see the whole
3:48
movie from his point you know I mean you
3:50
see the character in a mirror I believe
3:52
it's but it's like you see the whole
3:54
movie through first person it's very
3:56
video game like that's what this movie
3:58
does it's very powerful H and I I just I
4:03
was automatically just sucked into the
4:06
film and it makes everything that
4:08
happened just sort of much more
4:10
meaningful Alan what did you think of
4:12
nickel boy yeah let me let me correct
4:14
you for a moment uh okay because it was
4:17
it was brought up at the the CCA
4:20
ceremony or uh dinner for black Cinema
4:26
it's I would say 70% of the movie movie
4:29
is From firsters perspective and it's
4:31
not just the main yes it it does change
4:34
it does change and and the thing the
4:36
thing that grandmother right like
4:39
there's a scene where uh where his yeah
4:42
grandmother comes looking for him or his
4:44
mother comes somebody yeah he's talking
4:46
to someone we're seeing it from the
4:47
perspective of the person she but not
4:49
the the main character yes but what I'm
4:51
saying is the movie puts you in the you
4:54
are you are the one experiencing the
4:57
events let me expand let me expand
5:00
uh because like I said that's probably
5:01
70% of the movie The Other uh 30% is
5:06
basically I I would call it up close
5:08
images of that time of what it's like
5:10
being a black man in Jim Crow South uh
5:14
you know it's this movie there's rarely
5:16
a wide shot in this movie everything is
5:18
really up close and inyour face uh there
5:21
there's a point where they're showing
5:22
evidence of the crimes that were
5:24
occurring against the the the black
5:26
youth at nickel academy uh that that are
5:29
brought to screen and so I I'm more or
5:31
less I lik in this movie to uh a quilt
5:35
you know a quilt of the black experience
5:38
of of Jim Crow South because it's not
5:40
only the fact that you're watching
5:42
things through the point of view but
5:43
it's a lot of Fast Cuts uh you're
5:46
getting glimpses of things uh that that
5:48
were you know feelings and emotions of
5:50
the South uh of what was happening to
5:53
blacks in the South uh what was
5:55
happening to these boys who were uh you
5:58
know swier um they were they were slowly
6:01
being murdered over time uh you know
6:04
just because of the racism that was
6:05
going on and so the the scenes move
6:09
quickly uh the cuts are fairly quick
6:11
they're up close they're iny face and
6:13
that's all designed to give you the a
6:16
more um a more tactile a more emotional
6:20
uh grasp of what was happening at that
6:22
time and that's to me that that not only
6:25
takes what you're saying about the the
6:26
POV but but really uh takes this art
6:30
form and gives you a visceral emotional
6:33
feeling of what was light going back in
6:35
that time uh contrasted to the last one
6:37
we talked about uh the room next door
6:40
you know that seemed that seemed Art For
6:42
Art's Sake this is art with a purpose
6:44
and art for a meaning and and I do give
6:46
this a high recommendation yeah same
6:49
it's it's almost like parts of it the
6:50
parts you pointed out are almost uh kind
6:52
of documentry like yes yeah my only
6:56
quibble is I hate I am starting to
6:58
loathe time jumping I right I hate time
7:02
jumping because a lot of the times they
7:04
don't warn you what's happening and when
7:06
it happens you're confused as to where
7:08
am I who is this and and what's
7:12
happening now is I'm not figuring it out
7:13
until well into the movie and it' be
7:15
just comes frust yeah the time jumping
7:17
was weird um but I just the whole
7:21
experience of it I didn't mind that I I
7:24
I I just think it's so such a different
7:30
to tell this story that is it's
7:34
incredible so yeah I feel like that this
7:37
movie would have been average had it not
7:40
been shot this way yeah the the approach
7:43
the unique way to tell the story is what
7:46
makes it so powerful so uh I give it a
7:50
recommend as well High recommend and
7:52
we'll see this movie come up in Awards
7:54
season I believe so yeah I mean I think
7:57
I think this is my uh
8:00
best cinematography movie of year oh
