Oscar-Nominated 2025! Intense Film Based on True Story Drops Unexpectedly on Streaming

Following a festival circuit and a limited theatrical release in the United States, this intense and poignant movie has earned Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Oscar-Nominated Film Now Streaming

Ranked among the top 10 films of 2024 by the American Film Institute, this drama has been celebrated by audiences and critics alike, receiving 76% and 90% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, respectively.

However, similar to last year’s “American Fiction,” this award-winning feature will not see a theatrical release in France. It is available on Prime Video, launched without major announcements even though it is competing for the Best Picture Oscar.

A Heart-Wrenching Drama Based on a True Tragedy

In his first narrative feature, documentary filmmaker RaMell Ross brings to life “Nickel Boys,” the story of Elwood Curtis, a black boy from 1960s Tallahassee. The young African American is wrongly accused by the police of stealing a car.

He is subsequently sent to a juvenile reform school known as the Nickel Academy. There, he forms a friendship with a boy named Turner. Together, they strive to endure the brutal treatment and corrupt practices of the school’s administrators.

“Nickel Boys” is an adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s novel of the same name, which is itself inspired by the real events at the Dozier School, a correctional facility in Florida where young African Americans were persecuted from 1900 to 2011.

A Unique and Immersive Film

The film highlights this state scandal and aims to restore a voice to those who suffered in such institutions. Beyond the significance of its subject, “Nickel Boys” impresses with its immersive direction that is deeply moving, as it was filmed in first-person perspective.

With this intense approach, RaMell Ross offers viewers a relentless and sensitive experience that might be unsettling for some but allows one to literally step into someone else’s shoes.

In addition to its distinctive style and aesthetic, “Nickel Boys” is also notable for the visceral performances of its young actors, Ethan Herisse and Brandon Wilson, who guide us through a reflective look into a dark part of American history.

The film “Nickel Boys” is available on Prime Video.