DIRECTOR: Henry Joost, Ariel Schuman LEAD CAST: Emma Roberts, Dave Franco, Emily
Meade, Miles Heizer, Kimiko Glenn, Marc John Jefferies, Colson Baker, Brian
Marc, Ed Squires PRODUCER: Allison
Shearmur SCREENWRITER: Jessica Sharzer, based on a novel by Jeanne Ryan CINEMATOGRAPHER: Micheal Simmonds EDITOR: Madeleine Gavin, Jeff McEvoy DISTRIBUTOR:
Lionsgate GENRE: Techno-thriller,
drama LOCATION: United States RUNNING TIME: 96 minutes
Technical
assessment: 4
Moral assessment: 3
CINEMA rating: V14
Extrovert
high schooler Sydney (Emily Meade) eggs on her sidekick Vee (Emma Roberts) to
join “Nerve”, an app where joiners may be either “watcher” or “player”. Watchers pay a subscription fee while players
complete dares to get paid out of the watchers’ pot. Watchers vote on the dares players are
assigned to do. If players reject or
bail on a dare, they’re out, but if they complete a dare, their cash prize goes
directly into their bank account. They’re
also provided an option to go on to the next round. Tired of being a wallflower, Vee joins as a
player. Her first dare is to kiss a
stranger at a diner. The charming guy he
kisses, Ian, has actually been planted there to complete his own dare, dancing
on the tabletops. Their chemistry is cheered
by the watchers; from then on Vee and Ian team up for more dares, each one more
deadly than then last.
In
keeping with its theme, the directors used every trick possible to keep the
movie’s energy level zooming high, its visuals distinctive, and its soundtrack
pulsating. This is most apparent in
(spoiler coming) the dare that has the motorcycle driver whizzing
blindfolded
through New York’s crazy traffic. It
would be next to pointless to nitpick on the technical aspects of Nerve.
Its compelling story told in breakneck speed more than redeems the minor
technical flaws. The fact that Nerve can get the viewers to be emotionally
involved, to care for the characters as though they themselves were Nerve
watchers, means that whatever technical skills the film needed to deliver its
message, Nerve supplied.
Nerve resounds with a loud
voice of social commentary. It takes us into
the darker realms of cyberspace while keeping track of what’s happening in the real world. Its Philippine debut coincides with the
introduction in the country of the location-based, augmented reality game Pokemon Go, giving us a foresight into
the perils of such games. While involvement
in the Nerve app initially offers players and watchers fun (like Pokemon Go), a
deeper look into the motivation of Nerve players reveals serious issues
concerning self-image. Why would young
people venture into death-defying dares at all cost? Young people in Nerve tend to yield to peer pressure,
and would not think twice about endangering their life—defying authority and
common sense—for easy money and internet fame. CINEMA will not reveal Nerve’s ending; suffice it to say that it is clear enough for the
film to be given an Acceptable moral assessment.
