Is the movie Nickel Boys based on a true story? 

There are spoilers below.

The characters and events depicted in the film are fictional, based upon the novel The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead. Nevertheless, the Nickel Academy is closed based upon the real Florida School for Boys, which operated from 1900 to 2011. Throughout its years of operation, the Florida School for Boys was known for its abusive treatment of students, particularly Black students who made up the majority of the student body. As in Nickel Academy, the real Florida School for Boys exploited the labor of students, allowed for widespread sexual abuse, and covered up many suspicious deaths. As in the film, the crimes committed at the Florida School for Boys were only revealed and acknowledged many decades later, as investigators found around a hundred unmarked and undocumented graves on the campus of the school, corroborating reports and testimonies from former students.

Why was Elwood sent to Nickel Academy? 

Elwood is sentenced on false charges of serving as an accomplice to a crime. When attempting to travel to the Melvin Griggs Technical School in order to enroll in its free courses for advanced high school students, Elwood unknowingly accepts a ride from a man who is driving a stolen car. Elwood is arrested alongside the man by a racist police officer, and he is charged despite having played no role in the theft of the car.  Though his grandmother, Hattie, attempts to explain to the police Sergeant that Elwood had nothing to do with the car theft, the Sergeant disregards her, ignoring her evidence that Elwood was simply trying to reach the college. Because he is a minor, Elwood is sent to Nickel Academy, a reform school, rather than prison, though Nickel operates in a manner far closer to that of a prison than a traditional school. Elwood, then, ends up at Nickel Academy not because of his own choices, but rather, because of a criminal justice system that discriminates against him due to his race.  

How and when does Elwood die?  

Spoiler alert!

In 1962, Elwood and Turner attempt to escape Nickel Academy after learning that the Nickel staff intend to murder Elwood for acting as a whistleblower. The Nickel staff hunt them down, shooting and killing a weakened Elwood while Turner continues to run. At the end of the film, it’s revealed that Turner assumed Elwood’s identity, and that the adult “Elwood” shown in the flash forward scenes is in fact Turner, who starts a business and gets married while using Elwood’s name. In the 21st century, Turner reflects on his memories of the deceased Elwood before deciding to publicly testify to the abuses and violations that he experienced at Nickel Academy.  

Why does Turner assume Elwood's identity? 

A montage at the end of the film shows a driver's license bearing Elwood's name and a photograph of Turner's face. This license suggests that, after Elwood’s death, Turner assumed his name and identity in order to evade the authorities; the name “Turner” branded him a fugitive of the law and so was unsafe to use, but the police were not looking for Elwood because he was listed as deceased. For that reason, there is safety for Turner in using Elwood’s name. In addition, Turner keeps some part of Elwood alive by adopting his name as well as some of his ideals and values. The name becomes a reminder of the past and of a friend who paid the ultimate price for his belief in and insistence upon justice and fairness. 

Why did staff at Nickel Academy plan to execute Elwood?

In a pivotal scene in the film, Elwood reveals to Turner that he has carefully documented the abuses that he has witnessed and experienced at Nickel Academy in his journal. Elwood, who believes strongly in justice, hopes that his journal can be used to expose illegal activities at Nickel Academy to the authorities, leading to changes at the school, or perhaps even its closure. Turner, however, argues that Elwood has put both of their lives in danger, as he believes that the school staff will stop at nothing in order to conceal their crimes and maintain the corrupt system that allows them to collect illegal profits and sexually abuse students. Nevertheless, Turner agrees to hand Elwood’s journal to a group of school inspectors. Tragically, Turner is proven to be correct when the inspectors pass the notebook back to school staff, suggesting that they are part of the broader conspiracy that allows schools like Nickel to operate in illegal and violent ways. As a result of the inspectors’ betrayal, the staff plan to execute Elwood in order to silence him and conceal their own crimes.  

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