Nickel Boys (2024)★ 7.0/10

What a way to tell a story!!!!!!

A first-person perspective that offers no immersion, only a sense of alienation.

This was the opening film at the New York Film Festival. Dennis Lim mentioned that people often ask him what makes a great opening film, and this year, the answer was crystal clear. It’s a bold, forward-thinking, and innovative contemporary piece. The audiovisuals are absolutely stunning, though I have to admit, much of the dialogue went over my head. Still, it’s a film that leaves a strong impression.

The use of first-person perspective throughout the film fails to enhance immersion. While the camera mimics human vision, it doesn't achieve the same effect, and the excessive usage backfires. This technique isn’t groundbreaking—films like Lady in the Lake and Dark Passage experimented with it back in 1947, and more recently, Hardcore Henry. No doubt, new attempts will follow, but in the end, cinematography alone is just a gimmick. True emotional resonance requires much more than that.

It's my first time watching a movie shot from the first-person perspective. Though the film steers clear of explicit violence or gore, its unsettling atmosphere keeps you on edge the entire time. The flashy cinematography doesn’t add much to the story.

Style takes priority over substance here. While it’s clearly an artistic experiment, it ultimately falls short as a compelling film. The director leans heavily on sensory experiences to tell what could be a powerful story but misses the emotional connection with the audience.

This year, a little-known movie called NICKEL BOYS landed in the Best Picture category, and I need to talk about it. It had an extremely limited theatrical release last year, technically making it a box office failure. Based on the groundbreaking novel written by Colson Whitehead, it tells the story of Elwood (Ethan Herrise), a young black man with a promising future. When he makes one wrong decision, he ends up at Nickel Academy, an abusive reformation school. There he meets Turner (Brandon Wilson). They become fast friends in this hell on Earth. The movie uses archival footage and jumps forward and back in time, expertly weaving through the narrative and showing what these boys are feeling. As with last year’s ZONE OF INTEREST, this movie uses a completely unique filmmaking technique to tell a story based on a dark moment of history. While that movie used sound to immerse the audience, NICKEL BOYS uses a first-person point-of-view, literally putting us in these boys’ shoes. Taking on the perspective of somebody else is always hard, and this movie doesn’t shy away from the violence. Quite a few scenes are beautiful, with an underlying haunting feeling to them. Scenes of openness, yet claustrophobic. The first-person point of view is a good way of creating empathy, but it’s also possible to get motion sickness from it. I love it when filmmakers take big swings. Director and cowriter RaMell Ross has created an unconventional but gripping experience. Shout out to cinematographer Jomo Fray for having some one-of-a-kind shots. If you’re interested, the actual school this is based on is the Dozier School for Boys. NICKEL BOYS has a grim story from a horrible moment of history, but it’s also a beautifully hopeful film about finding meaningful connection in this world. It’s free on Amazon Prime now, go see it.

O uso da perspectiva de primeira pessoa ao longo do filme não aumenta a imersão. Embora a câmera imite a visão humana, ela não consegue o mesmo efeito e o tiro excessivo sai pela culatra. Essa técnica não é inovadora – filmes como Dama no Lago e Prisioneiro do Passado a experimentaram em 1947 e, mais recentemente, Hardcore: Missão Extrema. Sem dúvida, novas tentativas se seguirão, mas no final, a fotografia por si só é apenas um artifício. A verdadeira ressonância emocional requer muito mais do que isso.

Este foi o filme de abertura do Festival de Cinema de Nova York. Dennis Lim mencionou que as pessoas costumam perguntar a ele o que constitui um ótimo filme de abertura e, este ano, a resposta foi clara. É uma peça contemporânea ousada e inovadora. Os audiovisuais são absolutamente impressionantes, embora eu deva admitir que grande parte do diálogo passou batida por mim. Ainda assim, é um filme que deixa uma forte impressão.

Uma perspectiva em primeira pessoa que não oferece imersão, apenas uma sensação de alienação.

El uso de la perspectiva en primera persona a lo largo de la película no logra intensificar la inmersión. Aunque la cámara intenta imitar la visión humana, no logra el mismo efecto, y el uso excesivo termina jugando en contra. Esta técnica no es algo revolucionario: películas como Lady in the Lake y Dark Passage ya la exploraron en 1947, y más recientemente Hardcore Henry. Sin dudas, seguirán apareciendo nuevos intentos, pero, al final, la cinematografía por sí sola es solo un recurso. Para generar una conexión emocional auténtica, se necesita mucho más que eso.

Esta fue la película inaugural del Festival de Cine de New York. Dennis Lim comentó que la gente siempre le pregunta qué hace que una película de apertura sea grandiosa, y este año la respuesta fue evidente. Es una pieza audaz, innovadora y contemporánea que mira hacia el futuro. Los audiovisuales son absolutamente impresionantes, aunque, tengo que admitirlo, gran parte del diálogo me dejó algo perdido. Aun así, es una película que deja una impresión fuerte.