The Nickel Boys is a powerful and disturbing novel that delves into the horrors of Nickel Academy, a segregated juvenile reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida. The story follows Elwood Curtis, a bright and idealistic young man who is falsely accused of stealing a car and sent to Nickel Academy. There, he and his friend Turner navigate the brutal and corrupt environment, marked by physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. The novel explores themes of systemic injustice, human perseverance, and the lasting impact of trauma. It alternates between the 1960s and the present, as the dark history of Nickel Academy is uncovered and its survivors come forward to share their experiences.
This book provides a meticulously researched account of the white supremacist group known as The Order or The Silent Brotherhood. The authors, two courageous investigative journalists, detail how this group, founded by Robert Jay Mathews, attracted seemingly average citizens with their call for pride in race, family, and religion. The group's activities included bank robberies, armored car heists, and the assassination of Denver radio talk-show host Alan Berg. The book exposes the group's anti-black, anti-Semitic, neo-Nazi rhetoric and their mission to establish an Aryan homeland through violent means.
It’s Boxing Day, but we’ve got more than just leftovers in today’s show—we're just as stuffed full of gourmet goodies as we hope you are right now...
A fresh new guest interview this week with RaMell Ross, director of the awards-tipped ‘Nickel Boys’. Based on the Pulitzer prize winning novel by Colson Whitehead, it follows the growing friendship between two boys in racially segregated 1960s Florida, Ellwood and Turner, who find themselves unwillingly enrolled in an abusive reform school. Simon sits down with RaMell to talk about his innovative filmmaking approach—and we think you’ll be hearing plenty more from him in the future...
Reviews of ‘Better Man’, the Robbie Wiliams biopic from ‘Greatest Showman’ director Michael Gracey that chronicles the pop superstar’s infamous monkeying around by making him an actual chimp; ‘The Order’, the 80s-set thriller starring Jude Law as a neo-Nazi-hunting FBI agent; and ‘How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies’, the Thai comedy-drama in which broke university dropout M cozies up to his ailing grandmother in the hope of inheriting her massive fortune.
Plus Mark’s top 5 films of the year—and bottom 5 cinematic stinkers too.
Merry Christmas one and all—wishing you much festive film-watching...
Review: How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies – 08:20
Interview: RaMell Ross – 17:15
Review: The Order – 33:09
Review: Better Man – 40:06
You can contact the show by emailing correspondence@kermodeandmayo.com or you can find us on social media, @KermodeandMayo
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Kermode & Mayo’s Take 
