Nerve

Nerve had me hooked from the opening credits. Sebastien Guy has crafted a movie that is achingly beautiful in it's gritty, edgy form. Cinematically, it is a feast for the eyes with camera moves that give us hints along the way. The story is a plausible premise and the characters are well drawn with character arcs that are distinguishable. Sebastien is a master story teller. The music was especially flawless, the attention to detail that drove the entire piece emotionally. Sebastien Guy has created a cinematic wonder, this movie will stay with you. Let's hope this is the first of a long line of films by Sebastien Guy!

Honestly, some reviews go on about this film as if it were a masterpiece directed by Alfred Hitchcock or William Wyler. It's an escargot-paced "thriller" about a man who wants to track down his late wife's lover. The actors are not bad at all, but this is a very weak script with no real pay-off, and the alleged "twist" isn't really much of anything. The characters are fairly one-dimensional as well. The average rerun of "Dr. Phil" would be more entertaining.

A man Jakob Evans played by Christian Clark is determined to find closure after he discovers his wife, who is tragically killed in a car accident had been having an affair. First time feature director, Sebastien Guy cleverly guides the audience through Jakob's tangled journey as he becomes more and more obsessed about his former wife's mystery lover and embarks on a mission to discover this man's identity and track him down. Unable to live surrounded by reminders of his wife in the home they shared, Jakob rents a room in a seedy share house with a disturbed junkie-ish girl Grace (Georgina Haig) whom he befriends and enlists to help him. The pieces of the puzzle come together bit by bit throughout the film, resulting in a fascinating twist at the end. It can be likened to Christopher Nolan's Momento both in mood and narrative, and like Momento, there are a lot of questions and answers which aren't served on a platter which only adds to the intrigue.

Saw this film at Sydney Film Festival. Raw and real. Loved the gritty side of Sydney it showed.

Grace was a standout. Jacob's relationship with her was very convincing.

Always love Denise Roberts.

Incredible that it was shot in two weeks on a very small budget. Goes to show that a good story and good directing can prevail over budget restrictions and produce an excellent film.

Definitely seems to be a shortage of films in this genre being made in Australia.

Good action scene at the conclusion!

I saw this very impressive debut feature at the Sydney Film Festival on a cold winters night. The moody soundtrack was superb and really helped create intrigue in the opening sequences . I wasn't really sure where it was headed and I liked the fact that things were revealed gradually and gave the audience some thinking space.

What also worked really well was the fact that Sydney was very much a generic city in the way it was photographed so it really felt like you could have been anywhere. This helped to immerse  you in the character's world. I think for this reason it could do well on the international stage.

The performances were great and I really liked the way the minor characters were weaved into the story.

What an amazing outcome for a film shot in a couple of weeks on a tiny budget. This director is definitely a guy (excuse the pun) to watch.

I'd say he has a  big future in Hollywood along with his DP James L Brown!!

Someone in the audience asked if the soundtrack would become available and I think the filmmakers are working on that now which will be great...