Nickel Boys

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2:24

Nickel Boys

PG-13

Released Jan 24

2h 20m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

90%

Tomatometer

188 Reviews

76%

Popcornmeter

250+ Verified Ratings

Elwood Curtis's college dream shatters alongside a two-lane Florida highway. Bearing the brunt of an innocent misstep, he's sentenced to the netherworld of Nickel Academy, a brutal reformatory sunk deep in the Jim Crow South. He encounters another ward, the seen-it-all Turner. The two Black teens strike up an alliance: Turner dispensing fundamental tips for survival, Elwood, clinging to his optimistic worldview. Backdropped by the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement, Elwood and Turner’s existence appear worlds away from Rev. Martin Luther King's burnished oratory. Despite Nickel's brutality, Elwood strives to hold onto his humanity, awakening a new vision for Turner.

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Critics Consensus

Director RaMell Ross' stylistically radical approach to adapting Colson Whitehead's searing novel will be jarring for some, but Nickel Boys' sense of immersion achieves the jaw-dropping effect of walking in another's shoes.

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Kat Sachs

Chicago Reader

Based on Colson Whitehead’s 2019 novel, Ross’s adaptation is a poetical rendering of its subject matter.

Feb 13, 2025

Full Review

Peter Rainer

FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)

Just because the director has shot it in this way does not mean this was the best way to shoot it.

Jan 17, 2025

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Kambole Campbell

Empire Magazine

Nickel Boys is a triumph.

Rated: 5/5

Jan 16, 2025

Full Review

Lisa Nystrom

FILMINK (Australia)

Not an easy watch, but a worthwhile one.

Rated: 18/20

Feb 18, 2025

Full Review

Nick Boyd

Battle Royale With Cheese

We come to really care about the characters and the film immerses us in the time period, letting us see the injustices and the way of life that was.

Feb 16, 2025

Full Review

Margot Harrison

Seven Days (VT)

Ross...has such a keen eye for the surfaces of daily life, the eloquent details, that he creates a cinematic equivalent to stream-of-consciousness narration in literary modernism.

Rated: 4/5

Feb 12, 2025

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Shawn H

The struggle these boys endured is sad. Definitely a tear jerker and a worth see.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/21/25

Full Review

Stacey Duncan-grace

love the movie. was a little hard to follow at first

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/17/25

Full Review

jackie

We walked out! It was terrible! Very hard to follow ! Would love credit for another movie for the 2 of us! Not a fun way to celebrate Valentines Day!

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/15/25

Full Review

Carlos F

Beautifully shot and edited to let you feel as part of the strong friendship between the main characters. Brought me back some 45 years to a time of anxiety, inexperience, but always with a sense of hope fueled by the strength of youth. I loved the movie, the characters and the actors.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/14/25

Full Review

Tina C

The narrative was hard to follow at times but you could feel that a person who loved the process of making films enjoyed making this one

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/09/25

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Josie

A ver powerful story butchered by strange directing.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/09/25

Full Review

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RaMell Ross

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Elwood

Brandon Wilson

Turner

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Nickel Boys: Trailer 2

2:24

Nickel Boys: Trailer 1

1:15

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Synopsis

Elwood Curtis's college dream shatters alongside a two-lane Florida highway. Bearing the brunt of an innocent misstep, he's sentenced to the netherworld of Nickel Academy, a brutal reformatory sunk deep in the Jim Crow South. He encounters another ward, the seen-it-all Turner. The two Black teens strike up an alliance: Turner dispensing fundamental tips for survival, Elwood, clinging to his optimistic worldview. Backdropped by the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement, Elwood and Turner’s existence appear worlds away from Rev. Martin Luther King's burnished oratory. Despite Nickel's brutality, Elwood strives to hold onto his humanity, awakening a new vision for Turner.

Director: RaMell Ross
Producer: Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, David Levine, Joslyn Barnes
Screenwriter: RaMell Ross, Joslyn Barnes
Distributor: Amazon MGM Studios
Production Co: Anonymous Content, Louverture Films, Plan B Entertainment
Rating: PG-13 (Violent Content|Smoking|Racism|Racial Slurs|Some Strong Language|Thematic Material)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 24, 2025, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 11, 2025
Box Office (Gross USA): $2.2M
Runtime: 2h 20m
Aspect Ratio: Academy (1.33:1)

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