But what I didn’t think about until I rewatched recently is that “Hale County” is also, effectively, employing a first-person point of view, the way “Nickel Boys” does for its characters.

He tells the story though, through a first-person point of view. “’Point-of-view’ was a term we dropped. What was wanted to build was called a sentient image,” cinematographer Jomo Fray ...