I have not sobbed as hard and as consistently at a movie as I did at the last ten minutes of this. I thought it wouldn't get me because I predicted the ending about halfway through, but it fucking shook me. And now I'm sitting on the couch, thinking about it, and crying more.

Small detail that kind of fucked me up was how often the camera would turn away from something, not horizontally, but by turning to the floor. Keeping its gaze downward. Staying out of trouble. A survival instinct black boys know well. I don't really know how to sit with any of this without crying even more.

Occasionally difficult to emotionally connect with due to the first person perspective, but equally difficult to deny how bold its storytelling style truly is. How the hell was this not in the conversation for Best Director, Editing, and Sound?!

I don’t precisely know what I mean by this, but I don’t think this movie’s first person conceit is meant to capture the world as it is seen but rather the world as it is remembered, and I think it does that just about perfectly.

took me some time to settle into the style, but as soon as i did, i was engrossed until the end. the filmmaking has this ineffable hypnotic quality that commands you to live alongside the characters instead of simply passively watching the story unfold, and it’s impossible to shake even after the credits roll. jomo fray’s consuming cinematography is the true star of the show though, which not only places us right in the thick of the plot but also ensures that we see, hear, and feel everything these boys do as well, exactly as they do - a 4D cinematic experience created by an emotionally attentive camera alone, with no further bells and whistles needed.

I’ll write more on this one later I think but it’s been exciting to watch a potentially important director discovering himself in real time; conceptually bold, emotionally rich, politically charged and not only confident enough to make an audience meet it on its own terms, but generous enough to reward that sense of engagement.

The 25 Best Films of 2024: A Video Countdown

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major, major, major

It’s not a gimmick

Immaculately put together, stunningly shot, brilliantly acted, creatively jaw dropping; Nickel Boys shines through as an ambitious way to tell such a heartbreaking story.

The decision to present everything through first person pov continuously awe’s and wow’s throughout its plus 2 hour runtime. Constantly showing increasingly clever ways to play with the audiences expectations, it’s technologically brilliant. Not since Enter The void (2009) have I been purposefully sucked in to the characters mind in this way, it’s hauntingly immersive.