Nickel Boys director RaMell Ross shares five films that touched him as a film fan and filmmaker
Story
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Colson Whitehead, Nickel Boys tells the story of the strong friendship between two young African Americans who face the grueling trials of a Florida reformatory together.
Unfortunately, while I appreciate the ambition behind it, it unfortunately and somewhat paradoxically distances me from the main character
Young Girl – Screenplay, Composition and Production: Herschel Dwellingham – Performed by Frank Lynch – Courtesy of Grass of Home Productions and Publishing (BMI) A harrowing story of abuse and mistreatment of youth of color in a reformatory, it is told entirely from the subjective point of view of the main character and an intern he befriends at school.
Some early scenes felt a bit contrived and forced with this technique, and the dialogue never flowed naturally
It was also a bit of a challenge watching the film at the Stockholm Film Festival without subtitles, as it was very difficult to understand the dialogue in certain scenes.
The events were understandable, but details escaped me
Despite these objections to the stylistic choice, the story was still somewhat engaging, but overall it could have been even more engaging with a more traditional narrative style.