Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Colson Whitehead, Nickel Boys chronicles the powerful friendship between two young Black men navigating the harrowing trials of reform school together in Florida.
Nominated for Best Motion Picture—Drama at the 2025 Golden Globes
1960s, Tallahassee. Elwood Curtis is sent to the reformatory Nickel Academy for a crime he didn’t commit. Present day, New York. A revelation about the abuses suffered by the Academy’s students leads Curtis to remember his life-changing friendship with Jack Turner. Ross’s film is a dazzling achievement – a bold and beguiling exploration of trauma and buried American history.
- Grace Barber-Plentie, BFI London Film Festival 2024
"As major and memorable an achievement as any American film this decade."
David Ehrlich, IndieWire
"A clear masterpiece held together by visual splendor and idiosyncratic performances."
Robert Daniels, RogerEbert.com