In the Oscar-nominated film, Nickel Boys, a warm embrace from Hatty (Aunajanè Ellis Taylor) radiates from the screen, drawing viewers deep into the heartbreaking story.
Hatty is the grandmother of black teenage Elwood (Ethan Helis), who was sent to a school for boys reform just before he started college during the Jim Crow days in the 1960s. There he develops a friendship with Turner (Brandon Wilson). They both navigate the dark, isolated belly of the Nickel Academy, where abuse and corruption rampage. Throughout the film, Hatty works tirelessly, reuniting for her grandchildren, and seeking justice.
“Hatty thought Elwood was her hope,” explained Ellis Taylor. In particular, the film, shot from a first-person perspective, was based on Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel directed by Ramel Ross. It is inspired by the now-shining, true story of Arthur G. Dozier School for a young boy from Marianna, Florida.
The agency was at the heart of heinous allegations of racism, death, assault and poor circumstances. It was closed in 2011 and dozens of unmarked graves were found on the property. Last year, Florida officials awarded millions to an estimated 400 survivors for abuses that occurred at Dozier and the second overflow reform facility between 1940 and 1975.
“Nickel Boys” has been nominated for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. USA Today interviewed veteran actress Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor. He performed in films such as “Ray,” “If Beale Street Can Talk,” and “King Richard.”
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She talked about her role as Hatty and the timeliness of the film. (Note: This interview has been edited for clarity and length and contains small details about the film.)
Oscar: Which movie won the best photos last year?
Q&A with aunjanue ellis-taylor from “Nickel Boys”
Q: Before getting the script, I would like to know if you knew a true story, if not, what your reaction is during your research.
Aunjanue: I think I had superficial knowledge of what happened at Dozier School. I didn’t fully understand that. I knew what happened – at least with a bit of a hearing – was amazing despite being a wild bar. But I wasn’t completely educated about it until I started working on film.
Q: What helped you prepare yourself for your role as Hatty? Where did you draw inspiration from, and how do you feel you maintain her sense of warmth in such a tragic story?
Aunjanue: I think one of the things I was conscious of was that she wanted to be warm. I wanted to show her what it was like for her grandmother to love her grandchildren. I tried to express it with my smile. We wanted the worship to shine as bright as possible just because it was rarely seen. And I know how much I worship my nie and ne. They make me smile a lot more than I would have made a scowl, so I wanted to show it because that was true for me.
Q: What do you think this film properly illustrates the dynamics of grandparents, especially in black families?
Aunjanue: Hattie saw Elwood as her hope. She was nervous about him, and nervous about the activist work he was beginning to do. She was nervous about his life, but in many ways, she knew Elwood was among thousands of Elwoods in between, so they not only wanted her, but also the hopes of the black community and community. and the risks of racist and casteist societies.
Q: In the scene where Hatty first meets Turner, she doesn’t know him from anywhere. She’s only watching him at Nickel Academy, but she still accepts him. What do you think that scene, as a character, reveals about Hatty?
Aunjanue: I think Hattie and Turner have something in common, but that’s solitude. It’s quarantine. It’s this asylum that both of you feel. I think Hatty looks a lot like all of us black grandmas and black moms. They have such emotional intelligence. They are very sensible in the way they look at you and know that something is not right. She sees the idea that this boy and there’s no one to hold him and thinks it’s a crime. And I think it’s a tragedy, and it’s like, “No, it’s not my existence, not today. Someone will love you today.”
Q: When Hatty finally hugs Elwood at school, why are there scenes that are effective for viewers?
Aunjanue: I think it depends on the way viewers encounter the film. If you are me and you see this, you are thinking about the idea that you can’t reach or touch the people you care about, the one you love, especially when you hug them It’s unfair to know that you’re keeping you away from you. You know the frustration of it, its pain, its inevitable depression, the scars it places not only on your mind but on your body. We won’t talk about the physical effects of white hegemony on black life and how it affects your body.
I remember some of the jobs I did in Mississippi with regard to Confederate flags, when I couldn’t get out of bed because I felt so depressed, so angry, so helpless. It affected my sleep patterns. Those who don’t care about such things are not losing their sleep. You know what I mean. It affects your health. So imagine being a grandmother. You are not only dealing with the tools of white supremacy, but you are away from you – white supremacy that takes away something concrete and human. What does it do to her body? Do you know, not to mention her heart and soul? So, if you go through your blood and come to it, I know you will see it and feel reflected.
Q: How difficult was it to film that scene from a first person perspective? I know you’ve previously spoken about talking to cameras on behalf of people, so how did that experience do for you?
Aunjanue: That’s strange, isn’t it? listen. I knew what I was trying to do with genius director Ramel Ross would be something I had never experienced before, so that was what I wanted to do. As my colleague Ethan Helise said, I knew I had to make it, as the camera was the partner of the scene and ultimately the viewer said it was the partner of the scene. . And I don’t like cameras. I hate them. I’ll splash them. sorry! I’ve never felt comfortable with them. They’re always in the way. It always makes me feel like what I’m doing is fake. So imagine that you have to take what you said. It was strange. It was difficult. It wasn’t difficult at all, but I think it gave me the job because you know what Hatty was going through at the time.
Q: Why do you think 2025 is the right time to talk about this?
Aunjanue: It’s the past that everyone knows what happened to the kids at that school. First of all, it should have happened in the first place. There were people in that community. They knew what was going on with those kids and they said nothing. What do you say about this country is that we are causing such wildness in our soil, and not saying anything, and not doing anything about it? In other words, slavery happened here and it took hundreds of years for it to end. What does that say about our humanity? It was always the right time to tell this story, as it was supposed to never happen.
Q: How do you think this film will affect directors who want to tell a similar story of future injustice?
Aunjanue: I don’t think you can exaggerate what Ramell is doing. What he said about “Nickel Boys” and how he shot it, telling the story isn’t enough. I can answer your question, yeah, we need to tell more stories, right? But that’s not enough. It’s not enough to tell more stories. You also need to look into the tools that will do storytelling. That’s what he did. What he says is that it’s not just a lack of storytelling about black lives, injustice and more. What we need to face is the camera itself and the camera itself to create these images that are conspired to how we were demoralized and hurt by this economy built on white hatred. It’s how they are colluding.
Q: What was your reaction to film nominations for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay?
Aunjanue: What Ramell is doing is a necessary revolution of this kind, a way to honor these children, and something that happened to them in a singular and unusual way. Not there. So I swear to you, that’s everything I wanted and for that to happen, I just fussed.
Taylor Ardley is a news reporter for USA Today. You can contact her at [email protected].