Sweeping Scenery and Lasting Friendship Take Focus in RaMell Ross’ Nickel Boys Trailer

An official trailer has been launched for Nickel Boys, the upcoming adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead.

Inspired by the true story of the Dozier School for Boys and set in the Jim Crow South, Nickel Boys follows two Black boys, Elwood (Ethan Herisse) and Turner (Brandon Wilson), who are sent to Nickel Academy, an abusive reform school in 1960s Florida. This will mark the fiction debut of director RaMell Ross, who previously received an Academy Award nomination for his 2018 documentary Hale County This Morning, This Evening. 

The trailer alone boasts some of the most breathtaking images captured on screen this year (courtesy of cinematographer Jomo Fray). There’s the opening shot of a boy cycling through a long, winding road, surrounded by open fields. There’s the image of schoolgirls giggling as they skip down a sunny sidewalk. There are the heady, sometimes dizzying shots filmed quite literally from the point of view of the characters, each head shake and body movement reflected in the motion of the camera. Pair this with a rousing score by Alex Somers and Scott Alario, and it’s no wonder that the film received rave reviews after premiering at the Telluride Film Festival, where The A.V. Club’s Tomris Laffly called it “a film that fiercely wears its heart and artistic intentions on its sleeve.”

Whitehead’s novel itself received praise upon publication for its exploration of the historic abuse of young boys at schools similar to Dozier—which was only shut down 13 years ago—with Time even naming it one of the best books of the decade, so it will be intriguing to see how well the story translates to screen. After such acclaim for the novel, and following the critical success of Barry Jenkins’ TV miniseries adaptation of Whitehead’s previous novel, The Underground Railroad, there is, understandably, great anticipation to see how Ross’ adaptation fares in comparison. If this trailer is anything to go by, this film will leave an impact on audiences that are ready to confront America’s bloody history. 

Nickel Boys will have a limited theatrical release on October 25, 2024, and you can watch the trailer below:

Nadira Begum is a freelance film critic and culture writer based in the UK. To see her talk endlessly about film, TV, and her love of vampires, you can follow her on Twitter (@nadirawrites) or Instagram (@iamnadirabegum).