I’m glad to see I’m not alone, and that other members have reported being knocked over by that scene’s emotionality. “Honestly without words beyond Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor is a national treasure,” writes Lisa. “Never before has a hug been this meaningful in the history of cinema.” In an equally beautiful review, Spenky writes of the “feeling of a hug from a loved one, your stress and pain melted away for a moment from the warmth [of] your mother’s arms around you.”
UK readers finally get to see Nickel Boys on Friday (and LA members—we’re putting on a screening with The Ankler next Monday!), but last month on the Gothams red carpet, we were lucky enough to speak to Oscar nominee Ellis-Taylor about that gorgeous scene. She describes it as one of the more challenging, no less because of Ross’s ambitious technical swing: “That was a tough day,” she says. “Because the way that RaMell shot it, you had to be a technician, you know. So it’s like, how do you do that, and also be truthful?”
She finishes with a direct address to our reporter Jeremiah, and thus to all of you. “It was tough, but if you’re being affected by it, hopefully it was worth it.” Aunjanue, we are not worthy.
