'Nickel Boys' cast, director reflect on innovative new film
NEW YORK (WABC) -- There are some stories that stay with viewers long after the credits roll. "Nickel Boys" is one of them.
It's based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name about two Black teenagers at a brutal reform school in the South.
But we don't just watch these characters' journey - we experience it through their perspective, meaning the camera acts as their eyes.
The choice from director RaMell Ross makes it one of the most unique film experiences of the year.
"After reading the book, POV is the first thing that came to mind because of Elwood and Turner, me seeing myself as them, them being young Black men," Ross said. "And I grew up middle class with a lot of love, and I was terrified my entire life of similar things, something going wrong, something slight that just completely derails the foundation of what my parents had set me up to do."
For the actors, having the camera as their scene partner came with its challenges, but also profound moments of connection.
"I was so pulled into the world, so immersed in it, that when the credits rolled and I saw my name and I saw Brandon's name, I started crying, because I was like, 'oh, that was us.' Like, overwhelming feeling of pride and joy that we were a part of something as beautiful as this," said actor Ethan Herisse.
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor plays Hattie, the character who encourages the character of Elwood. When asked about who that person is in her life, she responded, "My mother, whose name I take now, and my sister, Sasha, she's also my day one Hattie."
"My mother and father," said Ross when asked the same question. "I laugh when I think about it, but they gave my sister and I so much love that, you know, we tried to give it to other people. This is largely responsible for my enthusiasm for the world."
When asked about a moment in history he'd love to experience through someone else's eyes, he said, "I think I'd want to be Malcolm X. I'm interested in sort of transformation, and you know, the process of a human being coming to grips with their cultural context. He went through such a series of transformations. Like, what is that like?"
Who did Ross make this movie for?
"I would say any person that's interested in letting go," Ross said. "Living as vicariously as conceptually possible, with a character from a novel that is unbelievable and rich beyond degree, then I think the movie is for you."
"Nickel Boys" will be released in limited theaters on December 14.
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