Nerve (J.R. Sawyers, 2011): USA

Reviewed by Byron Potau. Viewed on DVD.

A new filmmaker’s early low budget efforts can say a lot about what type of filmmaker he can be and if he is ready to take that next step. With his debut feature film, Nerve , director J.R. Sawyers shows us he is a promising filmmaker on the rise.

Josh (Tyler Langdon) suffers from social anxiety disorder and panic attacks. He meets Aurora (Laura Alexandra Ramos) who convinces him to let her study and help him so she can write a paper on his condition and the results of her efforts to break him free of the restrictions his condition puts on him. She puts him through exercises like talking to strangers and purposely getting rejected by women to get comfortable talking to people. These exercises work and he begins to find his nerve, however, this new found confidence is a bit misguided as he invites a group of homeless strangers to crash at his apartment which drives his roommate crazy. He also falls in love with Aurora who already has a boyfriend and who doesn’t quite share his feelings.

The film moves along swiftly and never dulls down mainly due to some flashy camerawork and fast paced editing, keeping the viewer interested throughout.

Tyler Langdon gives a solid performance as Josh and deserves the opportunity to put his talents in front of a more mainstream audience. The rest of the cast does an adequate job delivering some well written dialogue that has its share of comedy sprinkled about its believable drama.

Josh’s relationship with the homeless people in particular was a bit perplexing and I had wished for more explanation in this area as well as to delve more deeply into Josh’s psyche. Also, while there was a knowledgeable selection of classical music on the soundtrack it didn’t always seem right for the scene and I felt another choice of music may have been more effective. However, these are minor quibbles and this is quality filmmaking and I would be curious to see what Sawyers and his bunch could do with the experience they’ve gained and a little more budget.