There’s a good amount of charm in the movie ‘Novocaine’ that helps soften the moral gray area that the film comfortably resides in. Directed by Dan Berk and Robert Olsen and written by Lars Jacobson, ‘Novocaine’ finds an everyman character with the condition to not feel any pain and turn him into a raging vigilante in hot pursuit of love. The film takes much joy in the way that it attacks and brutally damages the protagonist’s body and injects humor by showing how it doesn’t hurt him at all. When the lead reacts in kind, the bad guys feel it at full force. The film revels in the handing out of punishment and while it can be funny, 110 minutes of it can be a bit daunting.
The lead character in question, Nathan Caine (Jack Quaid of ‘The Boys’ and ‘Companion’) has a rare congenital condition that stops him from feeling pain. His whole life revolves around this condition, preventing him from solid foods and timing his excretory functions. It has kept him isolated and constantly cautious. But a new co-worker, Sherry (Amber Midthunder of ‘Prey’) catches his eye and she’s intrigued by his quiet and mysterious demeanor. Inspired to change things up by a client at the bank, Nathan takes Sherry’s offer for a date, and they hit it off that there’s a significant change in Nathan the very next morning. He’s about to ask her out again when a bank robbery occurs at their place of work and Sherry is taken as a hostage. With the cops disabled from the bank robber’s firepower, Nathan takes it upon himself to chase after them and to secure Sherry’s safety while the police are after them, thinking that Nathan might be an accomplice.
The film is extremely careful to portray Nathan as a good person so that when he starts to fight back, we feel justified in his actions. Especially since the film is dead set in making every battle as brutal and gruesome as ever. As seen on the trailer, Nathan puts his hands in a deep fryer, hot enough to turn his hand to mush. Trust the directors to do a close-up and to edit it quickly to Nathan’s face who is completely unaffected by what should be searing pain. On the other hand, the film ensures that everyone he fights, they are awful and evil and beyond redemption so that when they get their comeuppance, you can be rest assured that only the bad guys feel pain.
It feels like a trend that’s popping up these days where movies are being more and more emboldened to do the worst, they can on whoever they judge is deserving of these intense and extreme cases of violence. From abusive men in films like ‘Blink Twice’ and ‘Companion’ and then films like ‘Monkey Man’ and ‘Boy Kills World’ where the violence is directed to fascists and dictators. ‘Novocaine’ follows on the same trope wherein we are expected to be more forgiving because the bad people are getting “what they deserve” even if it’s not what is regarded as justice by our laws. These films are creating a justification for vigilante justice because we are all becoming more and more aware that the law and law enforcement isn’t doing what it is supposed to do.
Through comedy, the film can take the most grotesque of fight scenes – it happened several times when someone got hurt in such a clever, unexpected way that I and everybody else in the cinema groaned really loud in empathy – and make it palatable because it’s happening to “the right people,” which in the politics in the film are criminals and nazis and fascists. And the film highlights Nathan’s priority which is the safety of a woman he just had one date with rather than the money that was stolen, which he gives away to people who need it. While admirable, it’s not his money to give.
And as romantic as it seems – the everyday man becoming a hero for the right girl – it supersedes rule of law and practicality. While the movie is fun and charming, I’m a little taken aback by the statements it makes about the world: a sudden romance is worth killing for and that is perfectly okay to be brutal to people who we deem deserve it. It’s a very thin line. Yes, it’s escapism. It’s a fantasy. But when enough films and series reinforce this fantasy, when do start thinking that it is right? And would I have this much worry if the film wasn’t so charming?
My Rating:
Novocaine is now showing in cinemas—ready to feel the thrill? Check showtimes and grab tickets here.
