Nerve | An amateur review
Well here I am, day 2 of my foray in to Medium and I find myself attempting to write a film review. Am I an aspiring critic? A newly acclaimed journalist? Or perhaps a self-indulgent egotist trying his hand at something new (ok ignore the last…may be a tad close to the truth).
The real truth is, I’m approach 1 week since an operation that’s forced me off work, made me sofa-bound and inconsolably lacking in purpose. That combined with the fact I finished eating and put on a film at 9pm with a running time of 96 minutes has left my twiddling my thumbs and it’s not even 11pm. Yes I’m sure many of you that would read this (i’m not hoping for mass consumption of this prose), 11pm would be a lovely bed time. I however am a night owl at heart so here goes!
“Self-indulgent egotist trying his hand at something new”
On to the film itself. If you are yet to watch it and don’t want to stumble across any spoilers, read no further than the big spoiler alert sign I’ll throw in at the appropriate point after I finish a general synopsis. As an avid Game of Thrones fan the concept of spoilers is punishable by Moon Door in my eyes. If you know, you know.
I first saw the trailer for Nerve back in early 2016 and it ticked all the right boxes. Fast paced cuts, bright neon imagery, an anonymous style computerised narrative voice-over guy to peak the interest. It essentially looked like the US had taken a Black Mirror concept straight from Charlie Brooker and gone full hollywood on it. This of course was never going to stand up to the raw, gritty, self-assessing style of Brooker’s work but non the less it had promise to be entertaining. (As it happens the film was actually based on a book of the same name by Jeanne Ryan).
“Like the US had taken a Black Mirror concept straight from Charlie Brooker and gone full hollywood on it.”
Before I start on the actual plot and content of the film, I’ll drop a completely meaningless rating because short of personally knowing me, my preferences and opinions you would have no idea how this stacks up relative to other things. Might as well grab a stranger in a curry house and ask them how spicy a dish is. Dude could smash through 6 vindaloos a week and not break a sweat so his definition of “mild” may blow your head off.
RATING : 7/10
Ok from here I’d like to chat a bit about how the film unfolds without outright spelling out the ending or major details. But if like me you prefer to watch a film rather than do what my housemate does which is essentially read everything about it then watch so none of it is a surprise, perhaps go no further.
**SPOILER ALERT — GO NO FURTHER**
Don’t say I didn’t warn you. So we’re launched into a cool POV scene as a cliche young blond girl called “Vee” (Emma Roberts) ponders accepting or rejecting her college offer. Of course POV is nothing new but personally, I enjoyed the sort of amalgamation of feeling like you are literally looking through her eyeballs and at other instances its like you have a locked viewpoint on the focus point around her cursor. It made for an immersive watch.
From there the standardised plot baseline is set. Lead character, support roles in the form of high school friends and basic understanding of the hierachy within the friends group. It’s safe to say, this film 100% was not written to challenge the intuition or subtle empathy of the viewer. It all but dishes up the construct in a bold subtitle overlay; but that’s ok. Not every film has to be an Interstellar (2014) style mind bender or a twisted drama rife with interlinking character plots like that of Closer (2004).
Once the stage is set we start to get in to the meat of the movie. The game “Nerve” which is one giant game of truth or dare, without the truth part. Not gonna lie, it’s a pretty badass concept and more than tangible to the average person in contemporary society that is pivoted around social media and populated by those intrinsically linked to it. It spreads online via word of mouth and upon first clicking people are prompted to become “Watchers or Players”. Watchers pay to watch, which wraps up the explanation of where the money is made and players get paid to play. Essentially it turns the great outdoors in to BetFred. And yes, you can bet-in-play.
“This film 100% was not written to challenge the intuition or subtle empathy of the viewer”
So off our whimsical, introverted lead girl goes in to this world of dares. Determined to prove to her friends thats she so much more than a door mouse. You go quiet blonde girl, you show them who’s boss! No genuinely, I rooted for her. You kind of can’t help it. So I guess hats off to the people behind the film for that. Good job.
From this point on it’s operation Dave Franco (Ian in the film). And as a big fan of his older brother, he’s had quite the shoes to fill. Whilst I’d say he’s come a long way from his roles in the likes of Scrubs (rebooted) as I’ll call it, I also hand it to him that he’s rooted his own style and path. His unfortunate curse however is that of the undeniable and seemingly inherent “Franco charm”. It shines through at every opportunity and well, there are worse things that could happen aside from being compared to your charismatic, talented older brother. (Think I just realised J Franco makes my man crush list)
“Essentially it turns the great outdoors in to BetFred. And yes, you can bet-in-play.”
So she’s made the first leap, kissed cheeky chappy Dave in a diner who’s then serenaded her in a response dare set to him by the watchers (good move watchers, very shmoooth). At this point the film really cranks up the visual eye candy. The cinematography and post production I would liken to a cross between Tron and Suicide Squad. Not in terms of explosions and CGI destruction, more in terms of shiny things, bright lights and pretty colours. It’s like visual cocaine for your eyeballs. If you’re after an easy watch that makes your brain feel all fizzy inside, you’re on to a winner.
So the plot continues, she gets more daring, a dark sinister sub-story about Dave’s (Ian’s) past develops and questions are raised to build the drama as we approach the climax of the game. Who is Ian really?! Will she actually escape the game?! What the chuff is the slightly unhinged, Fury Road character going to do next in his mission to win at all costs?! Will Vee and her childhood BFF remains friends when the dust settles?! All of these questions and no answers. Truly it’s edge of your seat stuff.
Sarcasm aside, as I previously mentioned it’s not made to be a complex thriller so in truth, the above more than adequately ticks the box and keeps you interested!
“It’s like visual cocaine for your eyeballs.”
Skipping forward to the finale, shit literally goes down in the square. Except the square is some sort of Ampitheatre in New York that looks like the architectural love child of a set from the Knights Tale and Fast & The Furious (Original). Basically, a modern twist on the classic are you not entertained?! all set to more badass neon lighting and a mob of people hiding their faces to further exacerbate their mob mentality fuelled by anonymity.
I won’t outright spell out the ending as that’s for you to enjoy through the lovely medium of film the way the producers intended. Not for me to bluntly butcher with the veil of intelligence draped over a few analytical sentences.
What was it lacking? More snippets of the wider game. Clips of other players attempting things. There’s a few very brief flashes of this nature but I found myself wanting more and it didn’t deliver. I also felt the plotline around Vee and her best friend Sydney was weak. Same old Mean Girls-esque format. Perhaps I’m just dark at heart but I would have preferred to go down the route of them both continuing to play and egg each other on. Then perhaps Sydney gets killed during a dare. I suspect this would have been too brutal for the happy-go-lucky hollywood ending. The inclusion of Vee’s dead older brother backstory that is also eluded to as the fuel for the fire that gets her in the game was probably grief stricken enough.
Overall, I stand by my rating of 7/10 for a number of reasons. Firstly, it ended and at no point during had I found myself bored or my attention wandering to other things. Secondly, the cinematography was good. Thirdly, Dave Franco. Finally, the colours were great. Seriously if you haven’t watched it do and you’ll see what I mean.
