Nerve

A shy young man in Los Angeles agrees to be the subject of a grad student's dissertation paper.

"Nerve" (2011) is an indie written & directed by one man, costing only $27,500, which is surprising given the professionalism of the proceedings. The male protagonist, played by Tyler Langdon, comes across as a combination of Emilio Estevez and Chris Evans. Meanwhile winsome Laura Alexandra Ramos plays the raven-haired, dark-eyed female protagonist and is, for me, the main highlight.

It's quirky and spiced with subtly amusing bits. The story could've gone over-the-edge with a thrill or two, but the writer/director decided to keep the happenings mundane with the (presumed) perception that less is more. There are enough understated insights to make it worth a second viewing down the line.

It runs 1 hour, 23 minutes, and was shot in Los Angeles.

GRADE: B-

so there's a dude with serious anxiety problems. he keeps to himself at his job, in his personal life and even at home. Lucky for him, his female coworker wants to help him as long as he helps her as the subject of her psych paper. this is just the first 20 minutes. The rest of the film is about what happens after his mind unravels and the interesting predicaments he gets himself into. Hijinks ensue.

this film flies. it never gets too bogged down in any one area and it seems to explore a multitude of different aspects of his life, and in a entertaining way. so if you're looking for requiem for a dream. this isn't it. this is more like crazy stupid love, except imagine if Steve Carrel had social anxiety disorder.. not to mention the actor kinda looks like Steve Carrel

I saw this at a film festival in New York. Although billed as a seriocomedy, it wound up being surprisingly dramatic-- although there were several laugh out loud moments.

Tyler Langdon and Laura Ramos both did excellent performances, but it's Peter Divito that I was most a fan of. My brother has social anxiety too so it was nice to see a movie tackle the subject in a very original way. In fact, I think this may be the only film ever about social anxiety.

Good music too. Mostly indie rock bands, but also a ton of classical-- some famous, some not. Like I said, very original film. Never seen anything like this before.

Josh is a guy full of anxiety issues. Has problems talking to people and just social situations in general. His coworker, Aurora is working on a psych paper that's all about social anxiety. She decides to use Josh as a guinea pig and in the process frees him from a lot of his troubles. However, there's many catch 22's. And it's the catch 22's that's the overwhelming bulk of the film. I wont say anything else. But i will say I enjoyed the film quite a bit. Imagine a low budget indie version of Punch drunk love, except the lead isn't violent at all. In fact, he's quite an innocent guy, which is where some of the humor comes from. Although the film can be a bit funny at times, I'd definitely say it's a drama for sure.

J.R. Sawyers' Nerve is a story about a socially phobic man who has to struggle to overcome his fears. Made on a shoe string budget the relatively unknown actors Tyler Langdon and Laura Alexandra Ramos turn in decent performances, helped by the witty dialog. Yet, I feel if this was made for bigger bucks, it may have turned into something greater. As it is, it's an interesting little indie film with a rather realistic take on mental illness and the way society views people afflicted with it. Good ideas but shaky execution. At times, the acting seems a little unconvincing and forced and I can't help but feel as if it's poking more fun at mental illness and social anxiety in a much more nasty way then it really intends. 4 out of 10 stars