Travelling there he accepts a lift from the wrong person and is convicted as accomplice in the theft of the car they are riding in.
Sent to the Nickel Academy reform school he befriends Turner (Brandon Wilson) and they and every other child face regular bullying and abuse. Elwood begins to document this hoping one day to pass it to someone who cares.
No good will come of this.
CW: Implied physical abuse
Notable for its mostly first person cinematography RaMell Ross shows a life of abuse and trauma without dwelling on it. The pair navigate the odd environs of the school, part work camp, part open prison but also with opportunity for freedom and happiness in small doses. It's entirely about putting you in Elwood and Turner's shoes, you live their life, often mundane as they hope for a way out.
As it goes on it introduces a more contemporary perspective looking back at the school and events there.
Using this first person approach avoids what could be quite formulaic misery porn: there's camaraderie and beauty in things like picking oranges but you know of and see the bad things that are happening.
A thoughtful and perhaps over long watch but 8/10.