Review of Nerve (2016) by Pipec — 11 Sep 2016

The Stunning Surprise Of The Summer.

"Nerve" is the homonymous film adaptation of the novel written by Jeanne Ryan, in the same way as the movie, it externalizes a rooted orientation to the young audience. The dynamic is simple: Watcher or Player? "Nerve" is an addictive virtual game, within which, you should choose be observer or player. If you decide to be observer will have to subscribe and challenge to the players, something not so novel, perhaps, because it is in what we are immersed day-to-day. If you put yourself in risk to be a player, prepare to meet each challenge proposed by the "anonymous users" and to earn money, gradually, Is it suggestive? To some extent, what young people do not know is: Who does the game restrict? considering that, despite there are not rules, certainly, there is one fundamental: If you denounce them, you die, What are they hiding?. The simplicity of its premise goes together almost immediately with the audience due to the parallelism of that apparent utopian world with ours. Aspiring to be more than an entertainment product, the film of Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman succumb in the dangers of Internet and the own morbid fascination that entail to the collective madness, satisfactory at least in the most of its duration by neon lights, fast pace and charming leads.

The film transfers the monotonous characters of high school and their teen conflicts of youth films to an illusory and accelerated atmosphere, in where they interpret their characters in an attractive way. Nonetheless, the exquisite casting decision transforms and materialize their roles in an imaginative and even realistic journey into submission. After Vee (Emma Roberts) is lost in the paradise of popularity, money and love, it will be only a matter of time to challenge her maturity and wisdom when she feels cornered against a wall of threats and betrayals. It is here, where the stable pace of the plot falls down abysmally, giving short but necessary minutes of relaxation, minutes remunerate with an ending non-apt for people with heart problems. Nevertheless, the background of "Nerve" goes beyond the Internet and its insecurities - theme addressed by several summer films, are they warning us about something bad? -, the mechanism is (invisible) Internet privacy to create the unstable world full of vices, obscenities and addictions. The morbid curiosity of people, potential misuse of social networking sites, lack of maturity and autonomy, avarice, betrayal, materialism and thousands of ethical values more that the film tries to mention of a way so relaxed as lucid. You will be surprised with the amount of social problems hidden in the movie and it sadly solves them of unrealistically.

As well as "Nerve" gets an absorbent atmosphere and a frenetic pace, it boasts of fundamental cinematographic flaws. At first instance, the proposal of the first scene reminds us the great-looking recording style employed in "Unfriended" or "Open Windows", where the operating system of a laptop or whichever media is reflected on the screen so that spectator takes a relative perspective. With running of the run-time, digital interfaces, constant neon lights camouflaged in the black night, (visibly) youthful soundtrack and the aggressive progress of the plot they lose the value that it deserved, limiting themselves to the thought of artificiality and lack of self-control of a couple of young people. By this, I do not mean that the result was embarrassing, to the contrary, it fascinated but wears down potential, which had helped it to transform in an outstanding thriller. It must be highlighted that, if it hadn't been for the basic and predictable treatment in terms of its visuals and the nuanced plot that they impregnated to its powerful and influential premises, and surely, it would get the name of 'cult film'.

Apparently, the latest releases will improve the disappointing streak of summer films, which is coming to an end. "Nerve" is the best teen film with suspense and action that I've seen, and certainly, it is the surprise of the summer - surprise very similar to "Unfriended" in April of the last year - because of it entertains, startle and make us reflect about our participation in that vertiginous virtual world. Nerve knows we’re already playing the game.