Novocaine

Directors: Dan Berk and Robert Olson
Starring: Jack Quaid, Amber Midthunder, Ray Nicholson, Jacob Batalon, Betty Gabriel, Matt Walsh, Conrad Kemp, Evan Hengst, Craig Jackson, Lou Beatty Jr., Garth Collins
Running Time: 110 min.
Rating: R

★★★ (out of ★★★★)   

Crank meets Nobody in the high concept action thriller Novocaine, which centers around an unlikely hero blessed and cursed with an inability to feel pain. And while the script spends considerable time digging into the details of his condition, it also presents this affliction as a lifelong albatross, until he uses it in a way he never could have imagined. Armed with a premise that suggests a Marvel movie or variation on Unbreakable, it impressively feels like neither, suggesting the line separating weakness from superpower is only as thin as the protagonist perceives. 

Directors Dan Berk and Robert Olsen roll with this idea until it's time to get down to business, throwing their main character into a life and death scenario that forces him to use his infirmity as a weapon. And it works best when exploiting those situations and star quality of a lead whose effortlessly likable everyman performance recalls a young Tom Hanks. As a result, viewers will find themselves strangely anticipating each new predicament where he's pummeled, shot and beaten within an inch of his life to protect the girl he loves. Logic gaps notwithstanding, it's also absurdly funny, with hardly a joke or sight gag missing the mark as it attempts to subvert genre conventions.      

Nicknamed "Novocaine" growing up, mild mannered assistant bank manager Nathan Caine (Jack Quaid) suffers from CIPA (congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis), a rare nerve condition that blocks out pain, prompting him to safety proof his home and office for protection. Self-conscious about the disorder, he spends nearly all his free time online gaming with Roscoe (Jacob Batalon), a friend he's never met. But when Nathan's crush, co-worker Sherry (Amber Midthunder) expresses a romantic interest in him, he reluctantly agrees to go out with her, despite the fear he'll have to reveal his disorder. As he nervously stumbles through the date, an interested and understanding Sherry forms a connection with him over drinks. 

After spending the night with Sherry, Nathan's on cloud nine the next morning, until a gang of armed robbers dressed in Santa suits rob the bank and take her hostage. Unwilling to wait for law enforcement to intervene, Nathan steals a police car and follows the vehicle through the San Diego streets, landing himself in a series of brutal brawls with these thugs. Unable to feel pain, the conflict averse Nathan sure can take a beating, but with cops hot on his trail and suspecting he's involved, the clock's ticking to save Sherry. 

Lars Jacobson's screenplay puts a huge early focus on Nathan and Sherry's burgeoning relationship, which is a plus since Quaid and Midthunder are good enough together you almost wish this was a romantic comedy focusing on her trying to coax him out of his shell. And for a while it looks like it will be, as an unusual amount of attention is given to a buildup most action films would have rushed through. The only drawback is that sometimes all the talk about his condition borders on overexplanation, delaying the inevitable as the filmmakers work extra hard to cover their medical bases. 

While much of that info comes into play later, the more details he reveals about the disease, the more questions we have, whether it relates to his inability to eat solid foods or the nagging bladder issue. But Quaid's such a pro at selling this that you're onboard, even during a bank robbery that features some pretty incompetent police work. Though without it, the door wouldn't be opened for the chronically passive Nathan to get involved in all these wildly violent fight sequences and adrenaline fueled chase scenes. 

Whether he realizes it or not, Nathan's exposed to a continuous physical onslaught that takes its toll, subjecting him to a level of punishment no one else could withstand. Unwilling to back down until he reaches ringleader Simon (Ray Nicholson), nearly everything involving Nate's gaming friend Roscoe hits just the right notes, reminding us what a well written and performed comedic sidekick can add. And though neither of their characters are winning medals for police work anytime soon, the supporting turns from Betty Gabriel and Matt Walsh as exasperated officers are also solid. But this is Quaid's show all the way and he doesn't disappoint, especially in the frenetic last act.

The story takes a turn midway through that might split audiences down the middle or even leave them feeling as manipulated as Nathan, whose naïveté becomes his most endearing quality. The notion that everyone hides or suppresses something because they're uncomfortable in their own skin helps some of the wackier developments go down easier. It's a theme Novocaine exploits when Nathan seemingly accomplishes his goal, only to be blindsided by the worst kind of surprise. To say he emerges unscathed is inaccurate since a lack of pain won't erase fatal injuries or magically cure emotional ones. By film's end, he'll have plenty of both, but remain capable of dusting himself off for another round.