Telluride: ‘Nickel Boys' is “Avant-Garde" and “Experimental"

First reactions to RaMell Ross’ “Nickel Boys” make it sound way more adventurous than initially believed. Apparently, the 140-minute film has an “experimental” narrative and is being described by some as “avant-garde.” Here’s a description:

The majority of “Nickel Boys” is shot in first-person POV, with perspective alternating between the two leads throughout. There are also some sequences of fixed-camera third-person POV shots. The film is in a 4:3 aspect ratio, and there are several sequences of stock footage, recordings of historical events, and even snippets of other films interspersed throughout

A reader described the first person POV usage as “feeling like a video game,” constantly playing with perspective, in ways that will either frustrate or exhilarate the viewer.

Raves are coming in from RogerEbert, IndieWire, Vanity Fair, THR, The Wrap and Next Best Picture. Meanwhile, writers from Variety, Awards Daily, Hollywood Elsewhere and Film Inquiry are mixed.

Here’s THR’s Scott Feinberg covering the divisive reactions:

Reactions among attendees, including numerous Academy members, have been strongly divided — many were impressed and deeply moved by the film, while others were left cold by it — leaving its Oscar prospects somewhat up in the air.

Editors may applaud the way that film editor Nicholas Monsour splices montages of footage of assorted things into the larger story. But for others, the relevance of that footage to the larger story isn’t always clear, and it makes a film that is quite long (two hours and 20 minutes) and challenging (it is relentlessly, heartbreakingly sad) feel even longer.

“Nickel Boys,” an adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize–winning novel, follows two boys whose close friendship helps sustain their hope even as the horrors mount around them at the Nickel Academy, which becomes a microcosm of American racism in the mid-20th century.

The film stars Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, Hamish Linklater, Fred Hechinger, Daveed Diggs, and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor.

This is Ross’ narrative debut. He previously hailed the poetic and visually stunning documentary ‘“Hale County This Morning.” Amazon MGM Studios’ Orion Pictures will release “Nickel Boys” in theaters on Friday, October 25.