5.0 out of 5.0 stars
“Novocaine” welcomes Jack Quaid back to the screens after an outstanding performance in his most recent movie “Companion” in January. This action-comedy movie follows Nathan Caine (Quaid) who is the assistant manager at a bank and an all-around normal guy who leads his life with caution; and he cannot feel pain.
Nathan has congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis, a rare genetic condition that significantly reduces a person’s life expectancy and prevents them from feeling pain. The kids in his middle school had a lot of fun with his condition, relentlessly abusing him because he could not feel it. His bullies gave him the nickname Novocaine as a result.
The opening montage of the film, beautifully accompanied by “Everybody Hurts” by R.E.M., juxtaposes his inability to hurt physically. The somber tone created by the gray coloring and slow-pace movement from Nathan implies that he is struggling mentally. This changes when the girl of his dreams, Sherry (Amber Midthunder), enters the picture. Nathan begins to live his life a little bolder, showing that what he is missing in life is having someone to care about, even if this opens him up to getting hurt. This is a touching sentiment for his character arc that highlights the emotional value of Nathan’s story.
His newfound courage is tested when everything is turned upside down and the bank is robbed, with Sherry taken as a hostage. The film kicks into action as Nathan is forced into a chase to find Sherry. We see him being pushed to his limit as he fully embraces his strange superpower in a series of epic car chases and fight scenes. The choice of set location is creative, with beautifully choreographed fight scenes in tattoo parlors, kitchens, car dealerships and a booby-trapped house.
The film does a great job of establishing the limits of his condition early on, showing us that when a hot coffee pot spills on him he is unaffected by the pain, yet is still left with burns. The stunts and injuries do not feel contrived because as an audience we are clear on his limitations.
The action in this film serves the genre justice with intricate fight choreography that does not rely on gore or shock value but instead thinks through each punch. The movie does not overpower him too much in fights because his character is established to be clumsy and inexperienced. He makes quips simultaneously as he fails knife throws and knockouts against opponents. The fight scene in the tattoo shop is a standout in the film. It is gritty, funny and has the best utilization of space, creatively brandishing glass and tattoo guns as weapons, giving the audience the adrenaline rush they came for.
Action films tend to fall into the trap of one-dimensional characters who are simply used as plot devices for the main character to either save or beat up. Films in the genre tend to place higher importance on flashy stunts than character writing beyond the main protagonist. However, in Novocaine, every character we meet on screen feels real and leaves an impact.
The writing in this film is strong overall, balancing funny and authentic moments in between the action. It does not feel too cheesy and effectively conveys the importance of letting people in and embracing the pain of emotional vulnerability. He learns to step outside of the mindset that, “If you don’t have anyone you care about, it’s harder to get hurt.”
Sherry is a standout character in the film, introduced as the love interest and revealed to be the sister of the lead bank robber. Throughout the film, she proves to hold her own, standing up for Nathan when his old bully crashes their date and eventually rebelling against her bank-robbing brother to help stop him. It is easy for the audience to root for Sherry because she is written as such a caring, independent and likable character.
Nathan does have one online friend, Roscoe (Jacob Batalon), well-known for playing Spiderman’s best friend and guy-in-the-chair in “Spider-Man: Homecoming.” The movie pokes fun at the typecast as Roscoe protests being any type of sidekick. By the end, we see how much Roscoe’s friendship means to Nathan, not just in the search for Sherry but in the search for his life’s meaning. Roscoe saves Nathan’s life many times, even with his own life on the line in the process. Watching their relationship grow from meeting for the first time to almost dying together is one of the more emotionally compelling points of the film.
After waking up from a coma at the end of the movie, we see his life has changed in small but impactful ways. No longer pushing the limits of his capabilities in high-speed car chases, he is still playing video games with Roscoe but living life less carefully. “Novocaine” does a great job with the elements essential for an action movie in its sets and choreography, while going beyond what is normally seen for the genre by featuring compelling characters and meaningful dialogue.
