In this day and age of social media, live video, augmented and virtual reality, how far would you go to make money, seek attention and show yourself off to the world at large?
Nerve, a thriller starring Emma Roberts and Dave Franco, based on the book of the same name, is a film that illustrates the dangers of this new age of technology and social sharing that we live in today. With social media apps like Periscope, Facebook Live, Vine and Snapchat making its mark on the world and now, with augmented reality games such as Pokemon Go taking the world by storm, the main plot of Nerve acts as an important reminder of the sanctity of privacy and the dangers that stem from sharing too much.
The film follows Venus ‘Vee’ Delmonico, a high school senior stuck with the stigma of always playing it safe and constantly in the shadow of her daring, risque friend, Sydney. Upon being taunted and humiliated for not being brave enough to live life, Vee decides to participate in the latest craze of her generation, a mobile game called Nerve.
Nerve is an online objective based truth or dare mobile game which allows participants the choice of being a ‘player’ or a ‘watcher’. The objective of the game is for players to complete dares set by watchers in order to win sums of money. As the dares become more dangerous, the game intensifies and players are eliminated for failing or bailing on the dare. The remaining two players, those with the highest follower count, will battle it out for the grand prize. The one important rule of the game? Don’t snitch.
Nerve sees Vee becoming a player and being partnered with Ian (Dave Franco) as the pair are dared to do crazier and more nerve wracking activities. But all isn’t as it seems as Ian comes with a past leading to friendships being tested, limits being pushed and ultimately sacrifices being made.
As a film, Nerve utilises the concept of psychological thriller well, in the sense that it urges viewers to think deeply about their own lives, use of social media sites and lack of privacy knowledge. Right from the get go, Nerve depicts just how much data the Internet collects about each person. Add to that the constant need for validation from others by way of likes, follows, shares and what not, and you’ve got the perfect method to target someone. The dares in the film are initiated simply by watchers ‘watching’ the players and finding out every intimate detail about the player, including their bank account details. What happens then when the developers of the game have every bit of information on a person? Then comes the third category of the game, ‘prisoner’.
In terms of story, Nerve hits the nail on the head in reminding viewers to be weary of what information they give out online. The fast paced action that takes place as Vee and Ian make their way throughout New York City to complete their dares further adds to the sense of suspense and thrills as viewers watch with anticipation of what’s to come next. Of course, many of the dares shown on film are completely ridiculous and are not something that anyone of sound mind would allow themselves to take part in. Though, I must admit that these ridiculous dares are filmed exceptionally well.
Visually, the neon colours of the game and the way in which the film is depicted in many parts through the other side of a screen is uniquely appealing. The build up and pacing of the film too works fantastically well in driving the plot forward and providing viewers with the sense of urgency as well as desperation in the characters’ behaviours and actions.
While a good chunk of Nerve enthralled me and forced me to think about my own social media presence, the fantastic build up and great story all led to one rather dissatisfying ending. For all that the film tried to do, it was cut short with an ending that felt much too forced, unnatural and too ‘easy’. With that being my only gripe with the film, I would certainly recommend Nerve to movie-goers. The film has certainly sparked some interesting topics for debate and is thought provoking enough for me to take heed of its message: be weary with what you do online, for you never know what dangers you might end up getting into.