Nickel Boys

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2:24

Nickel Boys

PG-13

2025

2h 20m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

213 Reviews

75%

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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Audience Says

A cinematic breakthrough, Nickel Boys may not appeal to those seeking a conventional approach to storytelling but will reward those in need of an experimental narrative that’s undeniably profound.

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Simran Hans

Sight & Sound

Nov 11

Ross simply shows how each boy sees the world, drawing attention to where their gaze drifts. He prioritises their individual humanity, by illustrating their inner lives.

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Adam Nayman

Toronto Star

Jun 17

4/4

One of the biggest conceptual swings of recent years, but never once feels uncertain or opportunistic, or even show-offy in an Oscar-baiting manner. It’s ingenious and also empathetic: a rare mix worthy of deconstruction and celebration.

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Wenlei Ma

The Nightly (AU)

Mar 1

3.5/5

By putting you in the literal point-of-view of its characters, the film becomes an empathy machine.

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Chauncey K. Robinson

People's World

Nov 20

B

The drama explores systemic racial trauma with cinematic grace and beauty despite the ugly history it boldly explores.

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Ray Greene

CineGods.com

Oct 14

4/4

Nickel Boys is remarkable, rule-breaking and ravishing cinema, and its advent announces the full arrival of a major cinematic talent of the first rank.

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Marta Medina Pérez

mundoCine

Aug 22

3.5/5

Ross achieves what few filmmakers can: he makes us step outside ourselves and see the world through the eyes of Elwood and Turner. [Full Review in Spanish]

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Chan

Mar 4

good movie style movie made to fully get into but still good

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shm

Mar 3

I think it was a great story, but unfortunately filming from the first person perspective was distracting and made the film difficult to follow.

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sanjay m

Mar 3

Weird camera angles, disjointed flow.

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Morgan R

Mar 2

Unfollwable. I don’t know who had the idea of creating a movie that used so many oddball cinematic devices so poorly. I get that it’s a huge subject, incredibly sad, but they chose an alienating way to tell it

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Sam

Mar 2

A special, special movie that will be remembered and discussed decades from now. Hoping more people can check it out.

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Patricia R

Mar 1

really well done. I read the book which let me imagine some of the occurrences. Watching the movie was almost as good and a little more frightening. A story that needed to be told!

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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 (Racism|Racial Slurs|Violent Content|Smoking|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): $2.8M
Runtime: 2h 20m
Aspect Ratio: Academy (1.33:1)

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