Paramount Pictures
Have you ever heard of Congenital insensitivity to pain and anhidrosis, or CIPA, or hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy type IV (HSAN IV)? Most likely not, but it’s estimated that there is an incidence of CIPA in 1 in every 25,000 births worldwide. The inability to feel pain is no laughing matter, but it certainly makes for an interesting twist to what could have easily been a standard Liam Neeson-type of action movie but with a much younger star.
Novocaine stars Jack Quaid as Nate Caine (nicknamed Novocaine by his childhood bullies who could beat up on him every day without him feeling anything — although that doesn’t mean he couldn’t suffer major blood loss), an assistant bank manager who lives a rather solitary life consisting of work and home, nothing in-between. Nate has CIPA and everything in his home and office has been hurt-proofed, especially corners of desks. But Nate has a bit of a crush on bank teller Sherry, which she picks up on and after an accident in the lunch room that resulted in Nate spilling piping hot coffee on his hand, Sherry makes it up to him by asking him to lunch. He turns her down at first, but a pep talk by his gamer pal — whom he’s never met — give Nate the courage to accept the offer, but at lunch he only orders a milkshake. Sherry tells him the cherry pie is the best in the world, and Nate finally admits his condition to her, explaining he’s never had solid food for fear of biting his tongue off and not feeling it. But she gets him to try a bite of the pie, which he chews slowly and enjoys immensely, and Nate is instantly smitten. Sherry invites him to an art show that night but he decides to stay at home and game, but Roscoe thinks he’s crazy for not going. So Nate goes, and one of his childhood bullies is there, still calling him Novocaine. Thinking Sherry finds the guy interesting, Nate is about to leave but she pulls a masterful prank on the guy in which she gets him and Nate shots to let bygones be bygones, leaving the bully in pain while she and Nate make their way back to his apartment where she spends the night and helps him ‘feel’ some things he’s never felt before.
The next day at work all seems normal until a group of men dressed as Santa walk in and announce they are robbing the place. Things go horribly wrong when the manager won’t open the safe, and it’s up to Nate to provide the combination. He doesn’t want to, and gets brutally beaten in the process, but when one of the robbers zeros in on Sherry, Nate has to give them the combination. The Santas get their money, but the police are on the scene so they take a hostage — Sherry — and open fire on all the cops surrounding the bank, leaving most of them dead or gravely wounded. Nate runs out and sees the two cars screech away and does what he has to do — takes a cop’s gun and car and goes after them to save her. But this only makes the police suspicious that Nate was in on the job, so they are after him while he is simply trying to save Sherry any way he can, no matter how badly he gets beat up in the process. A shocking twist, however, upends everything Nate has believed, but with the help of Roscoe — whom Nate finally meets when he’s gotten into a bit of trouble inside a booby-trapped house — and Sherry, Nate may be able to bring the robbers down … if he doesn’t completely bleed out first.
Proceed with caution ahead as there may be some mild character spoilers.
Novocaine uses the concept of Nate’s CIPA very well within the framework of the movie (though it’s not until the very end of the credits that anyone still in the theater will know that it is a very real condition that the filmmakers and studio don’t want people to think they’re taking lightly), making it just a matter-of-fact part of Nate’s life. It’s doubtful anyone with the condition would put themselves through as much as Nate does, but this is a movie so liberties will be taken and a disclaimer will be posted to ensure no one is (too) offended. Writer Lars Jacobson and directors Dan Berk and Robert Olsen do a nice job of slowly building up to the robbery, giving us enough exposition at the top of the story so that we as the audience can believe that Nate has fallen so hard for Sherry so quickly, and it’s all done well enough that we never stop to think for a moment that Sherry might be attempting to manipulate Nate. And as Nate goes on his tear through San Diego, he becomes sort of like all the characters in a slasher movie as Jacobson comes up with one creative moment after another to injure Nate (which in a slasher movie would certainly result in a character’s death). The film is ultra-violent but with just enough blood and gore, never going overboard (although one has to wonder if there is a ‘buckets of blood’ director’s cut waiting to be unleashed). And while the film is action-packed and dramatic, there are moments of humor such as when one of the robbers captures Nate (briefly) and begins to torture him for information about another of the robbers who has disappeared, forcing Nate to play along that whatever is being done to him is excruciating. (That’s probably the biggest moment when Nate’s condition is played for laughs.) Berk and Olsen, who have already done several films together, do a great job at building the tension all through the movie, leaving the audience on the edge of their seats, creating several moments that will have you jumping and cringing in your seats. Jacobson’s screenplay is impressively assured considering he’s only written two previous features and one podcast series.
Paramount Pictures
While the script is excellent, it would not have worked without the right star and they really struck gold with Jack Quaid. Quaid made his film debut in 2012 in The Hunger Games and had a major role on the Prime Video series The Boys. He may be better known for his extensive voice work on everything from Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (as Peter Parker) to Star Trek: Lower Decks (Ensign Boimler, whom he also brought to life on an episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds). But with his outstanding performance in Novocaine, imbuing Nate with an everyman attitude mixed with self-deprecation, a bit of nerdiness and anxiety around the opposite sex, to a man determined to save the woman he loves at any cost, Quaid should become the proverbial ‘overnight star’. He just has it all here — the charm of the ‘boy next door’ and the fearless determination of an action star. There may not have been a better choice for the role of Nate than Quaid.
Amber Midthunder is also excellent as Sherry, easily turning on the charm as she tries to woo Nate, but having to become a completely different person once the film reveals her secret. Then she has to gain back the audience’s trust so that we root for her to be saved instead of rooting for her demise. Jacob Batalon is wonderful comic relief as Roscoe, who surprises Nate with his appearance (Nate was expecting more Jason Momoa, but Roscoe is more Momoa-adjacent), but eventually becomes not just an ally in his quest but develops a deeper friendship beyond their anonymous gaming. Ray Nicholson (yes, Jack’s son) is appropriately unhinged as Simon, the leader of the bank robbers gang, someone who can appear calm, cool and collected but always has a sense of dangerous insanity just bubbling under the surface. Conrad Kemp and Evan Hengst do some good work as the not-quite-as-unhinged-as-Simon brothers Andre and Ben, at times wondering if they may have gotten in a little too far over their heads. Matt Walsh shows up as one of the two police officers investigating the robbery and trying to figure out Nate’s part in it, offering a few laughs along the way, and Betty Gabriel is terrific as the other officer, Mincy, who just can’t quite put all the pieces together no matter how hard she tries to force them. Her demeanor and her voice just make her a mesmerizing presence in the movie (perhaps she can do a few more Officer Mincy spin-off movies?).
The action in Novocaine is stunning, the make-up effects are disturbing, the writing and direction is top notch, and the acting is stellar. The movie will keep you clenching your fists and on the edge of your seats, gasping and occasionally laughing until the very satisfying ending of this nearly two hour thrill ride.
Novocaine has a run time of 1 hour 50 minutes, and is rated R for strong bloody violence, grisly images, and language throughout.
Paramount Pictures