Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor stars as Hattie in “Nickel Boys” (Photo courtesy of Orion Pictures).
(“Nickel Boys” trailer courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios)
People love to throw statistics out there about the number of Black males in prison.
Many of those same people love to blame Black people for their own condition and plight.
However, “Nickel Boys,” effectively and uniquely puts many stereotypes to rest as it shows that many young Black boys and men never had much of a chance in a country that always viewed them as chattel/property.
“Nickel Boys” destroys many stereotypes about the Black male and Black family, specifically in the 1960s.
However, one stereotype that it does not dismiss, and that is not necessarily a bad thing, is the reverence that many Black boys have for their grandmothers.
In fact, many Black boys like Elwood (Ethan Herisse) owe their entire upbringing to people like Nana Hattie (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) who raised them when their parents were unable to do so for whatever reason.
Although Elwood is around some vices like drinking and gambling, Hattie makes sure to provide the type of encouragement and morality that will ensure that he does not become another statistic.
Through her rearing, Elwood develops a love for education, especially reading.
He also develops a fighting spirit, which is influenced by the Civil Rights Movement and its eloquent leader, Martin Luther King, Jr.
While many of the local White employers encourage their Black subordinates to avoid politics, how could any oppressed people ignore the system and its leaders that are guilty of their oppression?
Because of Hattie’s righteous personality, Elwood has a strong sense of right and wrong and is determined to speak out against the injustices that he sees and endures daily.
One of those injustices is the schooling that is reserved for Black people.
Much of the lessons in the textbooks are geared towards White supremacy and Black submission.
However, it only takes one educator or person in the community to believe in a person to change the trajectory of their life.
In “Nickel Boys,” one of Elwood’s teachers sees promise in the young man raised by his single grandmother and encourages him to attend a school for gifted Black students.
Attending such a school would transform Elwood’s life and possibly his entire family tree who probably only dreamed of a college education.
Unfortunately, like so many Black families of the 1950s and 1960s, Elwood’s family members do not possess a fleet of cars.
Therefore, hitchhiking might be the only way to get from his hometown of Tallahassee, Fla. to the school’s campus.
While attempting to get to the campus, he hitches a ride with a Black man in his 20s or 30s in a fancy automobile.
The gentleman agrees to take Elwood the rest of the way.
However, when police officers get behind the car and blast their sirens, it is almost like a warning or emergency notice that Elwood’s journey might not go the route he planned.
The driver warns Elwood not to look back and to let him handle the situation.
However, the situation does not get handled properly unless a person would call being sent to a prison group home handling the situation when the alternative would have been an elite school for Black students, then college and then a successful future in the world.
And Although Elwood never had a silver spoon in his mouth being raised by his hardworking grandmother, he never had to deal with the stresses that he will have to endure at the Nickel Academy group home.
The boys at the Nickel must fight for survival.
They fight amongst themselves.
They must fight the authorities at the school.
They even must fight in a boxing ring and take dives just so that their White counterparts can win, and school administrators can win bets.
The boys at the Nickel even might get purchased by some of the White families in the area.
And they can only go free when all their debts are paid off to the families leasing or purchasing them and their services.
And for those that do not make it out, the Nickel has its own little cemetery where the boys can finally find their peace and their rest.
At the Nickel, the inmates are even cut off from their loved-ones.
When Hattie visits Elwood, she is not even allowed to see him.
Luckily, she meets one of the inmates, Turner (Brandon Wilson), who happens to be Elwood’s only true friend at the facility.
Although the friends have different views of the world, they have each other’s back no matter what.
And having someone have his back might become Elwood’s only hope for surviving an unjust incarceration at such an early age.
“Nickel Boys” is shot from a unique vantage point.
Elwood is hardly ever in front of the camera.
Mainly, the people on camera are the people taking and interacting with him.
As a result, moviegoers will see Elwood’s world from his own lens.
Ellis-Taylor does her thing as Hattie.
However, she does not quite measure up to her performance in “King Richard,” which is no slight to her because she was magnificent in that award-winning flick.
While there are no major award-winning performances, “Nickel Boys” should receive acclaim for highlighting an often-ignored era in Black history, which is convict leasing or slavery by another name.
Unfortunately, “Nickel Boys” does have some boring moments.
But the message in the film is something that will seep through regardless, and viewers will be better off for it because maybe it will eradicate some of the stereotypes that many people have about incarcerated Black males.
REGAL RATINGS
FOUR CROWNS=EXCELLENT
THREE CROWNS=GOOD
TWO CROWNS=AVERAGE
ONE CROWN=POOR
