I went into the cinema thinking that I'll be watching a cousin of "Matrix" or "Tron". Not so. Well, not a close cousin anyway but perhaps a distant one. There is a huge difference that may even argue against the kinship completely. In the genre we are familiar with, people go INTO the cyber world to face all sorts of adventure in some phantom space. In "Nerve", while things are still controlled by the computer, adventures take place OUTSIDE, in our real world, IN FLESH (and, alas, blood too). The subject matter is not so much IT technology as the social media revolution brought about by it. If you, therefore, wish to put "Nerve" into a genre pigeon hole, "The social network" is not such a bad choice.
Strictly speaking, this "computer game" called "Nerve" does not even need a computer to play. But of course, IT technology makes it practically viable. After the usual signing on and registering, you are asked to choose between two statuses (there is an ominous third, which I shall revealed later). Most people are Watches, contributing a fee to watch the other category, Players, to "dare" their challenges ("a bit like "true and dare" without the truth part" quips one character). Sydney (Emily Meade), for example, is among the top ranking Player, having accumulated over six thousand Watchers when she eggs her best friend Vee (Emma Roberts) into joining.
There is, needless to say, money involved. Funded by the Watchers' subscription, Players earn price money by successful completion of each "dare". Vee's first loot is a modest $100 for kissing a total strange randomly in public, for whom she picks Ian (Dave Franco). All these happen real time, smart phones recordings by either the Players or their friends (and often both) for all Watchers to see. The price money is deposited instantly into the Player's account.
The people who control the game are faceless, so are even the Watchers. In the story, they seem to like seeing Vee and Ian together. Joint "dares" thrown at them soon escalate to reckless proportions, with obviously correlating upgrading of the loot. The game is technically not illegal, as reflected in a cop's reaction when it is reported to him: "has an actual crime been committed"? But it is in a sufficiently shady area for the owners of the game to impose a confidentiality rule, with threats of harsh consequences if broken: "snitches get stitches". This is the aforementioned third status: Prisoner.
The plots develop around the three aforementioned characters and things are of course not as they seem. There is an important fourth Tommy (Miles Heizer), a shy IT wiz kid who is Vee's best male friend, superficially platonic.
The theme of the movie, if there is one, appears to be the significance of anonymity of the audience, the Watchers in this case. A barbarous multitude (in The Bard's words) will do anything behind the safety net of anonymity. The way to kill the game, as it is demonstrated at the conclusion of the movie, is to reveal all the Watchers' identity. It does not matter if the operators of the game are not tracked down. With all the Watchers coping out, there is no game for them to operate. All the four members of the young cast mentioned above did a respectable job. For once, critics seem to be unanimous on the good chemistry between Roberts (Julia's niece) and Franco (James's brother). The movie is solidly entertaining.
Strictly speaking, this "computer game" called "Nerve" does not even need a computer to play. But of course, IT technology makes it practically viable. After the usual signing on and registering, you are asked to choose between two statuses (there is an ominous third, which I shall revealed later). Most people are Watches, contributing a fee to watch the other category, Players, to "dare" their challenges ("a bit like "true and dare" without the truth part" quips one character). Sydney (Emily Meade), for example, is among the top ranking Player, having accumulated over six thousand Watchers when she eggs her best friend Vee (Emma Roberts) into joining.
There is, needless to say, money involved. Funded by the Watchers' subscription, Players earn price money by successful completion of each "dare". Vee's first loot is a modest $100 for kissing a total strange randomly in public, for whom she picks Ian (Dave Franco). All these happen real time, smart phones recordings by either the Players or their friends (and often both) for all Watchers to see. The price money is deposited instantly into the Player's account.
The people who control the game are faceless, so are even the Watchers. In the story, they seem to like seeing Vee and Ian together. Joint "dares" thrown at them soon escalate to reckless proportions, with obviously correlating upgrading of the loot. The game is technically not illegal, as reflected in a cop's reaction when it is reported to him: "has an actual crime been committed"? But it is in a sufficiently shady area for the owners of the game to impose a confidentiality rule, with threats of harsh consequences if broken: "snitches get stitches". This is the aforementioned third status: Prisoner.
The plots develop around the three aforementioned characters and things are of course not as they seem. There is an important fourth Tommy (Miles Heizer), a shy IT wiz kid who is Vee's best male friend, superficially platonic.
The theme of the movie, if there is one, appears to be the significance of anonymity of the audience, the Watchers in this case. A barbarous multitude (in The Bard's words) will do anything behind the safety net of anonymity. The way to kill the game, as it is demonstrated at the conclusion of the movie, is to reveal all the Watchers' identity. It does not matter if the operators of the game are not tracked down. With all the Watchers coping out, there is no game for them to operate. All the four members of the young cast mentioned above did a respectable job. For once, critics seem to be unanimous on the good chemistry between Roberts (Julia's niece) and Franco (James's brother). The movie is solidly entertaining.