‘Nickel Boys,’ ‘Presence’ and the first-person POV movie

“Who tells the story?” is the central question in the Oscar-nominated “Nickel Boys,” as well as director Steven Soderbergh’s latest cinematic experiment, “Presence.”

A Best Picture nominee at this year’s Academy Awards, “Nickel Boys” tells the story of two African-American teenagers enrolled in an oppressive reform school in the 1960s. Director/co-writer RaMell Ross, collaborating with cinematographer Jomo Fray, shoot the entire film in a first-person point of view, beginning with Elwood’s (Ethan Herisse) journey to the Nickel Academy reform school after he is wrongfully convicted of stealing a car. 

The first-person perspective at first seems disoriented and unnecessary to the story. However, Ross’ creative intentions become clear once the film begins shifting back and forth between Elwood and his classmate Turner (Brandon Wilson). Turner tries to help Elwood keep his head down to avoid physical abuse from the tyrannical school administrators, while Elwood holds out hope that his grandmother (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) will be able to overturn his conviction.

The film eventually adds a crucial third perspective in the form of a series of flash-forwards into Elwood’s adulthood. The fluidity of Ross’ intercutting is a captivating accomplishment, particularly in how the visual style becomes an essential asset to the film’s thematic intentions rather than a distraction. Ross (working with editor Nicholas Monsour) interjects the film with pointed images from outside the central story, particularly footage from the 1960s space race.

These choices scaffold into a thematic examination of perspective, with the end of the film in particular providing a recontextualization of what Ross presented before. The richly executed craft of the movie along makes it a worthy Best Picture nominee.

Unfortunately, “Nickel Boys” doesn’t seem to be getting much of a theatrical run (it quietly opened in local theaters last week with only a couple showings per day). The movie will soon appear on Video on Demand platforms as well as its eventual streaming home on MGM+ and Amazon Prime.

Coincidentally, another first-person-shot movie opened in theaters last week: Steven Soderbergh’s “Presence,” a haunted house movie told exclusively from the perspective of the silent ghost at the center of the film. Lucy Liu and Chris Sullivan play a couple in the midst of a rough patch, and their teenage daughter, Chloe (Callina Liang), is reeling from the overdose death of her best friend. Her teen brother, Tyler (Eddy Maday), only seems to care about his social status at school.

Anyway, the family moves into the vacant home where a ghost roams the house (though it particularly enjoys hanging out in Chloe’s closet). The presence appears to be messing with Chloe in particular, but soon enough the entire family notices the supernatural force.

“Presence” isn’t a traditional horror movie with jump scares, though the camera movements and how the ghost interacts with the family is often unnerving. The film’s most chilling moments arise when the family hires a medium to investigate the home.

With decent performances, particularly from Liang, a refreshingly brisk runtime and fun visual tricks from Soderbergh, “Presence” overcomes some questionable story choices in the third act, though the final scene packs a wallop. Like “Nickel Boys,” the movie’s final choices provide opportunity to explore another perspective on second viewing.

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Tyler Wilson can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com.

    This image released by Neon shows Callina Liang in a scene from "Presence."