A recurring trope in movies is that autism is like a superpower. Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man was an early example of this. Ben Affleck was a better killer for it in The Accountant. 2018’s The Predator had a young boy with autism, Rory Mckenna (Jacob Tremblay) be able to decipher and understand an alien language in minutes. The problem with this is making it a superpower is a very lazy piece of writing, however, there is something that could be a superpower.
CIPA or congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis could be seen as a superpower. Basically, the people who have it can’t feel pain, which could come in handy in some circumstances, but as Nathan Caine (Jack Quaid) explains in Novocaine (dir. Lars Jacobson) he can’t eat solid food because he can’t tell if he is biting through his tongue, so with everything there are swings and roundabouts.
Caine is an introverted bank manager who lives a highly scripted consistent life. He makes sure he doesn’t do anything that could cause him trouble because he won’t feel it if something goes wrong. He spends his free time playing video games with Roscoe Dixon (Jacob Batalon), safe in his cocooned, controlled world.
Until, a co-worker Sherry Margave (Amber Midhunder) approaches him and asks if he wants to go and get lunch. Nathan initially refuses the offer but changes his mind and takes her up on his offer. She suggests he try a cherry pie, which he declines to her surprise. She pesters him and he eventually tells her about his condition and he decides to carefully try to eat the pie. Which he loved.
They go on a date and he runs into a bully of his when he was a kid. Sherry starts flirting with the bully which makes Nathan feel terrible until Sherry gets the bully to drink a shot of hot sauce and Nathan and Sherry leave happily.
The next day at the bank, Nathan is on a high when three bank robbers dressed up like Santa Claus come in and demand the safe get open. The bank manager refuses and is shot dead for his heroism. The robbers then ask for the assistant manager and Nathan is asked to open the safe, he can’t feel any pain from the physical violence they are applying so the robber grabs Sherry and threatens her and Nathan gives them the code to the safe.
While getting the money the police turn up sooner than expected and the robbers take Sherry as a human shield while killing multiple police during their escape. Nathan comes to and sees that Sherry is kidnapped and attempts to track down the robbers and free his love interest.
A pretty standard plot, but what sets this movie apart from your average action flick is the brutality of the violence. Lots of films will use the Jaws approach, not showing the shark and letting your brain fill in the blanks. This film goes the other way, it shows you exactly what is happening with thumbs getting broken off, hands going in boiling oil, knives going in and staying it, it is a challenging watch for some people.
Quaid does a great job as Nathan; surprised by the circumstance he is in but not feeling anything while it goes on. The twists and turns are not shocking but the cast all do a great job of making the film fun and interesting, if you can handle the gore.
21 March 2025 by Luke McMeeken-Ruscoe
