SCENES
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Scene Map 60
# PG SLUGLINE
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INT EXT INT/EXT hover for full slug
Scene Map
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# PG SLUGLINE
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2A EXT. CURTIS HOME - YARD - FRENCHTOWN FL - 1958 - DAY (D1) 2A ELWOOD (6-8ish) POV of the midday sky where the moon is visible against its blue hue. The underside of a lemon tree with lemons is also in view. EVELYN (O.S.)
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4 INT. CURTIS HOME - LIVING AREA - 1958 - NIGHT (N3) 4 SOUND of Christmas music on a radio in the background. It’s Christmas Eve. ELWOOD POV from where he’s lying on the floor, on a threadbare patterned carpet, looking up through the branches
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8 INT. RESTAURANT KITCHEN - HOTEL RICHMOND - TALLAHASSEE - 8 1958 - DAY (D6) Elwood POV from where he’s seated on a stool in a hotel kitchen that overlooks the dining room, reading a Hardy Boys mystery. SOUND of staff clanking around, pots and pans,
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9 INT. CURTIS HOME - HATTIE’S BEDROOM - 1958 - NIGHT (N8) 9 Elwood POV as he pads down the dark upstairs hallway, turning a corner and peeking through the slit of the door and frame to Hattie’s bedroom, slowly pushing it open. He watches Hattie while she sleeps, drawing closer,
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12 EXT. TALLAHASSEE STREET - SIDEWALK - 1965 - DAY (D10) 12 Elwood (POV) up at a store window full of stacked TVs just as the screens go blank to static, zap to a bar that stretches out then bounces back to a dot on each before going dark. SOUND of the busy street and voices of women on the sidewalk
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13 INT. CURTIS HOME - LIVING AREA - 1965 - DAY (D11) 13 Elwood POV standing in the living room, looking at his arm stretched out in front of him. He watches intently as his skin rises into goose pimples, the hairs at attention... then they recede and the hairs go flat. Elwood adjusts his arm to
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17 INT. LINCOLN H.S. CLASSROOM - TALLAHASSEE (1966) - DAY 17 (D14) Elwood POV of a few used, scattered pencils on the floor near his desk. It’s the first day of the semester and a new teacher, MR. HILL, (late 20s, kind face above a bow tie, scar
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18A INT. CITY BUS - FRENCHTOWN - 1966 - DAY (D15) 18A Elwood POV seated in the city bus, Hattie (O.S.) beside him, reading the Selected Poems of Gwendolyn Brooks. As Hattie’s hand turns a page, Elwood sees a LITTLE GIRL slide herself feet first from under their seat forward into the space
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22 INT. MARCONI'S TOBACCO SHOP - 1966 - DAY (D19) 22 Elwood POV from a short step-ladder near the magazine rack. He is popping his knuckles and stretching his fingers, rotating his wrist and flexing his hand while looking at the darkly grooved life lines in his palm.
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22A EXT. SIDEWALK - TALLAHASSEE - 1966 - DAY (D20) 22A Elwood POV standing in a line-up of local Black TEEN BOYS against a wall along the sidewalk. He looks to his right and downward as the rubber tip of a cane taps the right, then left, pants pocket of the boy next to the boy next to him.
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27 EXT. ABANDONED ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - TALLAHASSEE - 1966 - DAY27 (D23) Elwood POV looking down at the interlaced legs of two BROTHERS (teenagers) lying perpendicular to each other on the floor of a derelict classroom in an abandoned school. They’re
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29 INT. CURTIS HOME - KITCHEN - 1966 - DAY (D25) 29 SOUND of a radio news station in the background. Elwood POV at the kitchen table, staring at the Melvin Griggs pamphlet hanging from a magnet that is sliding very slowly down the front of the fridge.
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30 INT. MARCONI'S TOBACCO SHOP - 1966 - DAY (D26) 30 Sound of a radio in the background. Elwood POV from the register in Marconi’s. He sees two neighborhood boys, TITUS and PERLIE, sliding comics under their shirts.
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33 EXT. RURAL ROAD - NEAR TALLAHASSEE - 1966 - DAY - (D27) 33 Bright sun. Elwood POV walking down a country road, looking to hitch a ride. Two vehicles whiz past. As he walks on, he continues to glance back, thumb out. A battered pickup truck with a giant, oversized cross in the
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35 INT. CURTIS HOME - ELWOOD’S BEDROOM - 1966 - DAY (D28) 35 Elwood POV, his gaze so still with a dead humming silence that it feels less like an establishing of an empty room. (CONTINUED) 35 CONTINUED: 35
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38 EXT. PARK - TALLAHASSEE - 1966 - DAY (D31) 38 Elwood POV sitting on a bench. He stares down at his own body, slumped with despair. He sees his shadow at an angle on the ground. The shadow disappears slowly - the light flattens as clouds pass overhead - and then his shadow reappears as
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41 INT. POLICE CAR - RURAL ROAD - FLORIDA - 1966 - DAY (D33) 41 Elwood POV of a passing Florida landscape, out the backseat window of a moving Department of Corrections police car. Light SOUND of a sawing, as through leather. Elwood turns to glance back into the car from where he’s
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42 INT. ADULT ELWOOD’S APARTMENT - NYC - 2018 - DAY (D-FF1) 42 Brightly colored ground penetrating radar (GPR) images of unmarked graves where bodies have been buried and discovered with this technology are up on a computer screen. SOUND of a mouse click and the image changes. Someone [ADULT ELWOOD] is
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44A INT. INTAKE BUILDING - NICKEL ACADEMY - 1966 - DAY (D33) 44A Elwood POV from where he’s seated in the intake room. It’s a stark contrast to the well-maintained outside: run-down, cracked paint, water stained ceilings. The walls are scuffed and scratched. A COMMANDING MALE VOICE is carrying loudly.
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45 INT. ADULT ELWOOD'S APARTMENT - NYC - 2018 - NIGHT (N-FF2) 45 More GPR images of unmarked graves and their contents on Adult Elwood’s computer screen. Just enough SOUND of keyboard and mouse clicking to signal he’s been calling up these images online, then searching out more information about a
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49 INT. NICKEL ACADEMY - SHOWERS - 1966 - DAY (D34) 49 SOUND of showers, boys’ voices. Elwood POV moving from the line-up for the showers into place in front of a tile wall. Blakeley is beside him. BLAKELEY
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54 INT. NICKEL ACADEMY - DINING HALL - 1966 - MORNING (D35B) 54 ...Elwood’s POV of an orange rolling around on his tray as he walks through the mess hall with a bowl of lumpy oatmeal. The mess hall is loud and rowdy, full of boys serving up their morning round of nonsense.
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55 INT. NICKEL ACADEMY - CLASSROOM - 1966 - DAY (D35B) 55 Elwood POV looking at a couple of dusty, dried up terrariums and an aquarium, long abandoned, the water cloudy. Elwood focuses briefly on the gravel at the bottom, greenish with algae, fish scales, dead bits of plants, a cat’s eye marble
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60 INT. NICKEL ACADEMY - BATHROOM - 1966 - AFTERNOON (D37) 60 Elwood POV from inside a bathroom stall through the gap between the stall door and frame of Black Mike shoving Corey, the stutterer, into a corner, back to the walls. Black Mike squeezes Corey’s face cheeks together with one hand while
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62 EXT. CITRUS GROVE - NICKEL PLANTATIONS - 1966 - DAY (D38) 62 Elwood POV walking through a grove on a work detail behind Desmond, who turns to swiftly check if Elwood’s there. They walk between rows of trees, Elwood looking right and left at the SOUND of boys’ voices all around him. There are
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63 INT. NICKEL ACADEMY - DORMITORY - 1966- NIGHT (N38) 63 Elwood POV as he awakens in his bunk to the SOUND of tires grinding gravel outside, car doors opening, feet thumping up the stairs. The men’s flashlights dance. Earl, the large black man who
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68 INT. NICKEL ACADEMY - INFIRMARY - 1966 - DAY (D39) 68 Elwood POV lying on his stomach in an infirmary bed as his eyes flutter open, his focus blurred as he looks down at his fingers dangling over the side of the bed. He GROANS in pain.
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73 EXT. MARIANNA FL - BACK ALLEY - 1966 - DAY (D41) 73 Turner POV as he’s getting into the passenger seat of the van when the BUTCHER (50s), a porky white man whose apron is a palimpsest of stains, passes a smeared envelope of cash through the driver’s side window to Harper.
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75 EXT. NICKEL ACADEMY - GROUNDS - 1966 - DAY (D43) 75 SOUND of a lawnmower, louder and louder as it approaches. Turner POV as he walks along a path that winds through the campus. On the grass alongside him, a WHITE BOY pushes a hand mower into frame, keeping pace, messing with him. The noise
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76 INT. NICKEL ACADEMY - INFIRMARY - 1966 - DAY (D43) 76 SOUND of someone whistling, cheerful and fluttering. Elwood POV, still lying on his stomach, opens his eyes and sees an old wooden polio wheelchair with a boy in it get pushed clackety-clack past his bed by Nurse Scarlett. The
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78 INT. NICKEL ACADEMY - STAIRWELL - 1966 - DAY (D44) 78 Elwood POV walking up the stairs at Nickel. He’s about eight steps from the landing and a turn to the next staircase when Griff appears coming down the stairs above, hugging close to the railing. He passes Elwood, moving through him- hard- with
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81 EXT. NICKEL ACADEMY - GROUNDS - 1966 - DAY (D47) 81 Elwood POV waiting with a group of boys as the old tractor that will haul them out to the fields in the wooden trailer backs up toward them. Blakeley is lecturing them. BLAKELEY
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82 INT. COMMUNITY SERVICE VAN - NICKEL ACADEMY - 1966 - DAY 82 [CONTINUOUS] (D47) Elwood POV as they climb into the van’s front seat bench, Elwood beside the window, Turner in the middle, Harper at the wheel. Harper looks over at Elwood as he pulls out.
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83 EXT. NICKEL ACADEMY - INTAKE BUILDING - 1966 - DAY (D48) 83 Elwood POV walking down a paved walk, following an alligator at a distance as it takes and turn and lumbers toward the intake building. Elwood’s gaze is steady on the reptile, but he is also
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85A INT. NICKEL ACADEMY - DORMITORY - 1966 - DAY (D49) 85A Elwood POV from where he’s seated on a bed, of Turner walking a line of tiles on the dorm floor, trying to keep his balance like it’s a sobriety test. Jaime is also hanging out with them.
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88 EXT. NICKEL - GROUNDS - 1966 - LATE AFTERNOON (D50) 88 Elwood POV sitting beside Turner on a lawn on the campus grounds. They’re just, sitting. SOUND of wind in the leaves. Birds. Sun dappling. A breath of peace. TURNER (O.S.)
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90 EXT. HARDEE HOUSE - PORCH - MARIANNA - 1966 - DAY (D51) 90 Turner’s POV as he and Elwood paint the weathered, faded grey floorboards of a long porch than runs along the back of a big pink house with white trim and pillars. A sparkling blue swimming pool floats in a lush green lawn
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91 INT. NICKEL - BARN - STALL/HIDING PLACE - 1966 - DAY (D52) 91 Faint SOUND of a ball game. Elwood’s POV, reading one of Mrs. Hardee’s donated books in Turner’s secret hiding place in a stall of the school’s dilapidated horse barn. Light streams down through the slats.
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94 INT. NICKEL ACADEMY - DORMITORY - 1966 - DAY (D54) 94 Turner’s POV as Blakeley, tipsy, enters the dorm room with the monthly mail call. The boys are sitting on their beds, trading Negro League baseball cards, playing rummy. Elwood’s writing in his notebook.
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96 EXT. NICKEL - BOOT HILL - 1966 - DAY (D55) 96 Elwood’s POV as Turner leads him to the iron rings used to restrain boys to two trees on Boot Hill. Elwood moves closer, drawn by some discernible movement on them. There are ANTS crawling in and around and on the iron.
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100 INT. NICKEL - SMALL GYMNASIUM - BOXING MATCH - 1966 - 100 NIGHT (N58) The roar of the crowd in the gym where the fight is already underway. SOUND of the bell ending round “1”. From where he’s seated in a row of chairs, Elwood’s POV of
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101 INT. RESTAURANT KITCHEN - HARLEM - 1968 - NIGHT (N-FF3) 101 ... continuing over into Adult Elwood’s (18) POV into the large industrial sink of a Harlem NY restaurant kitchen. One of his hands is underwater holding a plate up, and the other is washing it in a circular motion. The radio is on a shelf
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106 INT. RESTAURANT KITCHEN - HARLEM - 1968 - NIGHT (N-FF3) 106 ... and combines with the ever fainter background SOUNDS of a busy kitchen around Adult Elwood POV. His hands are underwater in a deep sink, watching one bubble in particular that has grown in size and stands above the others. He moves
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110 EXT. NICKEL ACADEMY - GROUNDS - 1967 - DAY (D61) 110 Elwood POV from where he’s seated at an empty picnic table he’s staked out under a tree. Families are gathering at two or three other tables on this warm winter afternoon. It’s a visiting day.
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111 EXT. NICKEL ACADEMY - GROUNDS - 1967 - DAY (D61) 111 Turner POV standing near a seated Elwood, watching as Elwood twists an oak leaf and pulls the leafy parts off bit by bit. TURNER (O.S.) I’m sorry, El. I don’t know why I
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115 EXT. STREET [UNDER PORTICO] - MARIANNA - 1967 - DAY (D62) 115 Elwood POV is under a portico, looking up at himself and Turner in the reflective surface of its underside. ELWOOD We can walk around?
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115A EXT. MAIN STREET SIDEWALK - MARIANNA - 1967 - DAY (D62) 115A Turner’s POV walking with Elwood, sees Elwood’s demeanor change as he suddenly notices something on the other side of the street. He darts into the road, moving through the traffic diagonally across the street. A car HONKS at him.
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117 INT. LIVING AREA - TENEMENT APARTMENT - NYC - 1975 - DUSK 117 (D-FF5) Adult Elwood (25) POV of a TV screen in the living area of a tenement apartment. The local NYC station is playing the sequence of images of 1970s New York landmarks at night that
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120 INT. COMMUNITY SERVICE VAN - GROUNDS - NICKEL - 1967 - 120 NIGHT (N64) Elwood’s POV from the front seat of the Community Service van as they drive along a gravel road through fog on the Nickel Grounds. Harper pulls up to a padlocked storehouse. Turner
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123 INT. BAR - NEW YORK - 1988 - DAY (D-FF6) 123 Adult Elwood (38) POV seated on a stool watching a TV above the bar that’s showing the end of the NY Marathon. A steady stream of sinewy runners is finishing. TV camera crews in small vehicles trail them, white cops on motorcycles.
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125 INT. NICKEL - INTAKE BUILDING - 1967 - DAY (D66) 125 Turner POV of the boys lining up in the basement of the intake building, getting fresh uniforms from Nickel staff under the oversight of Blakeley, who is unusually sober. BLAKELEY
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128 EXT. NICKEL ACADEMY - GROUNDS - 1967 - DAY (D66) 128 Turner’s POV as he hauls a bucket of tools out of the back of the Community Service van and brings them to Harper, who is snappily dressed and leaning against the side of the truck, striking a match and lighting a cigarette like he’s James
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131 EXT. NICKEL - FIELD - BLEACHERS - 1967 - DAY (D66) 131 Elwood POV from up on a scaffold next to the bleachers on the field, which are turned upward on their side, repairing and painting planks with some of the other boys. He hammers down hard on a nail three times, forcing it flush against the new
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132 EXT. NICKEL ACADEMY - GROUNDS - 1967 - DAY (D66) 132 Turner POV from inside the Nickel Community Service van, watching the three Inspectors and Hardee lean into each other now that the State inspection is complete- conversing, laughing, almost merging as they take their leave...
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135 INT. NICKEL ACADEMY - DORMITORY - 1967 - DUSK (D66) 135 Turner POV, in the middle of a card game. Other boys are hanging out. JAIME (O.S.) (arriving)
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141 INT. NICKEL - ANOTHER HALLWAY - 1967 - NIGHT (N66) 141 Elwood’s POV of Turner creeping in front of him, also dressed in his regular clothes. Turner moves stealthily past a warm light coming through the glazed panels in the door of an office. The voices of
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143 EXT. HARDEE HOUSE - 1967 - NIGHT (N66) 143 Turner’s POV, moving swiftly along the edge of the swimming pool in the back yard of the Hardee house, glancing back at Elwood. Moonlight creates a silky reflection on the pool water.
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144A EXT. DIRT ROAD - CANES FIELDS - MORNING (D67) 144A Elwood’s POV of Turner riding in front of him on a dirt road through the cane fields now, for awhile, this glorious sunny morning. Turner looks back smiling at Elwood, he laughs, joyful at the distance they’ve put between themselves and
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145B EXT. RURAL LANDSCAPE - FLORIDA - DUSK (D67) 145B Turner POV as he runs through a grassy landscape at dusk. (CONTINUED) 145B CONTINUED: 145B Various shots as he keeps running.
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INT. ADULT ELWOOD’S APARTMENT - 2002 - NYC POV through a camcorder of ADULT TURNER (52) sitting on a couch with a remote, flipping channels looking for a game. His wife Millie (OC) is looking through a new digital camcorder, trying it out.
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Nickel Boys

A brilliant young Black boy's journey through a brutal reform school exposes the horrors of systemic racism and the enduring power of human resilience.

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Overview

Poster
Unique Selling Point

What sets 'Nickel Boys' apart is its unflinching portrayal of the systemic injustices faced by Black boys in a reform school setting, combined with a deeply personal coming-of-age story. The screenplay's ability to weave historical context with individual struggles makes it compelling for audiences interested in social justice and human resilience.

AI Verdict

Model upgrade — Mar 31, 2026: Analysis is from our newer, stronger readers. Scores aren't directly comparable to pre-upgrade analyses.
Gemini
 Highly Recommend
Claude
 Recommend
GPT4
 Highly Recommend
See Details in P/C/R/HR Section
Story Facts
Genres:
Drama 60% Thriller 25% Crime 20%

Setting: 1958-1968, Frenchtown, Florida and Nickel Academy, Marianna, Florida

Themes: Systemic Racism and Injustice, Friendship and Resilience, Coming-of-Age, Family and Community

Conflict & Stakes: Elwood's struggle against systemic racism and the oppressive environment of Nickel Academy, with his future and identity at stake.

Mood: Somber and reflective, with moments of hope and resilience.

Standout Features:

  • Unique Hook: The juxtaposition of Elwood's childhood innocence with the harsh realities of systemic racism and the oppressive environment of Nickel Academy.
  • Major Twist: The revelation of the true nature of Nickel Academy and the impact it has on the boys' lives, culminating in Elwood's tragic fate.
  • Distinctive Setting: The contrasting environments of Frenchtown and Nickel Academy, highlighting the differences in community and institutional oppression.
  • Innovative Ideas: The use of archival footage and flashbacks to connect past injustices with present-day reflections.
  • Unique Characters: A diverse cast that represents various perspectives on race, identity, and resilience.

Comparable Scripts: The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead, The Help, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Outsiders, A Raisin in the Sun, The Shawshank Redemption, Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, The Color Purple by Alice Walker, When They See Us

Script Level Analysis

Writer Exec

This section delivers a top-level assessment of the screenplay’s strengths and weaknesses — covering overall quality (P/C/R/HR), character development, emotional impact, thematic depth, narrative inconsistencies, and the story’s core philosophical conflict. It helps identify what’s resonating, what needs refinement, and how the script aligns with professional standards.

Screenplay Insights

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Overall Score: 8.25
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Emotional Analysis

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Goals and Philosophical Conflict
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Themes
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Logic & Inconsistencies
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Scene Analysis

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Writer Exec

This section looks at the extra spark — your story’s voice, style, world, and the moments that really stick. These insights might not change the bones of the script, but they can make it more original, more immersive, and way more memorable. It’s where things get fun, weird, and wonderfully you.

Unique Voice
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Writer's Craft
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Memorable Lines
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Tropes
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Correlations
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