What I’m Watching: Nickel Boys & Adolescence
When directorial style explodes story...
Nickel Boys
How I wish I’d seen it in the theater! From the opening scene, it’s clear you are seeing a new language spoken in film and gesture. Most of the movie is shot from the perspective of the main character, looking at the world through his eyes. The first shot is your small brown hand lying in the grass, and you look up to see an orange hanging from a tree directly above your head. From the house, you hear comments from the family. “He’s just lying out there like he fell out.” And you know, in just a few seconds, we’re suddenly in the body of a dreamer, a person who loves nature, from a family who knows his whims and indulges him.
You don’t see your face until you pass by a mirror a few minutes into the film. By then the protagonist feels like a close friend.
Every shot is striking and poetic, a fragile Southern beauty. When the eye/camera pans out or lingers on something, every look has a paragraph of meaning. And skillfully woven throughout the story: scenes from the news and the tumultuous times of the 1960s, the moon landing, Martin Luther King, Jr., the Vietnam War.
I’m thrilled to look forward to watching this movie again and catching all the subtle references to past and present events, art and music. Actress Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor gives an absolutely perfect performance as Hattie. A story of friendship and courage told by director RaMell Ross, streaming everywhere.
Adolescence
Adolescence (Netflix) is the story of a murder shot in four parts. Each part is shot in one take, so all the actors, movement, lighting and crew has to follow the characters through the house, the police station, the store, the car, everywhere. There is no looking away, and this kind of filming brings to it a powerful tension and intimacy. A teenage boy murders a girl from his class, but the story is about how we raise our children, the influence of incel culture, forgiveness and loss. Stephen Graham plays the working-class father and his performance is absolutely devastating. The second episode is an unsettling, revealing and unforgettable psych interview with the boy.
