Technology might change, but teen angst stays the same. That leads us to Nerve, a thriller for the social-media age that lacks the cynical convictions to match its somewhat provocative premise.
Indeed, those fed up with millennial ignorance and entitlement will only get more fuel from this gleefully oblivious effort that wastes a perfectly perilous series of silly online dares with compassion for its misbegotten protagonists.
In the film, the titular game has hooked a group of mischievous young New Yorkers through a smartphone app that asks whether they want to play — thereby earning money by participating in a series of increasingly dangerous stunts — or watch, in which case they pay money to help guide the outcome.
Specifically, the focus is on Venus (Emma Roberts), a timid teen whose reluctant participation in Nerve leads to jealous friction with her best friend (Emily Meade) and an awkward co-dependent relationship with a fellow player (Dave Franco) who might have a dark side. It’s up to a computer nerd (Miles Heizer) with a crush on Venus to try hacking into the system before things get too out of hand.
The game itself is clever in its conception from both perspectives. Players can flout authority while gaining 15 minutes of fame and a quick buck (although the financial viability of the whole enterprise seems sketchy), while watchers can call the shots behind the scenes and satisfy their voyeuristic sides.
The directing tandem of Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman (Catfish) is familiar with tech gimmicks, and the filmmakers incorporate them to stylish effect here while preying upon viewer acrophobia and other common fears.
Yet the flimsy screenplay by Jessica Sharzer squanders its concept by allowing the suspense to dwindle as the stakes are raised. Nerve gradually becomes more detached from reality by misjudging hypothetical audience expectations from such a scenario, casting itself into a fantasy world where such an elaborate game could exist without ramifications.
Likewise, the film’s moral compass is all over the place, embracing a rebellious anarchy among over-privileged teens in the Pokemon Go generation while also railing against the anonymity of online user names and peer pressure.
As the victims become the heroes, the result might lead to an inevitable final showdown, but by the end, you’ll wish you hadn’t been a watcher.
