Summary
- Nathan, the protagonist in Novocaine, can't feel pain and must force himself to endure it when his love interest is kidnapped.
- Memorable lines from the film include a poignant quote about love and an action-packed set piece involving booby traps.
- Despite his inability to feel pain, Nathan uses clever tactics, like shocking a driver with defibrillators, to outsmart his foes.
Novocaine starts slowly, going into the mundane life of the protagonist, Nathan Caine. Nathan was raised in a sheltered life because he has a disease that doesn't allow him to feel pain. While that may sound cool for an action hero, it's not great for Nathan as even his bladder could burst if he doesn't feel it increasing.
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Then one day he goes on a date with Sherry falls in love, but the next day his bank is robbed and Sherry gets kidnapped in the process. Nathan forces himself to go through literal pain to get her back in Novocaine and these are some choice lines from the film that are worth remembering for their associated scenes.
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
8 "Time Don't Matter."
Earl
The movie opens with a heartbreaking scene at Nathan's bank wherein he is talking to a client. Earl is an older man struggling to make payments on his house and tool shop after his wife passed. He says this line to Nathan lamenting that time doesn't matter in love as any time spent away be it a day or decade can be painful.
Nathan can't help him much, but he does file some paperwork away to give Earl a bit more time, showing that Nathan has a heart and can feel empathy but just not pain. While not a huge presence, Earl does get to appear later.
7 "I'll Just Go F*** Myself."
Roscoe
Nathan doesn't get out much in fear of getting injured but he does have one friend, Roscoe, or at least he does online. There are several scenes in the movie that showcase a Diablo-like game but it doesn't appear to be real.
During an early match, Nathan tells Roscoe he has to make an appointment and at first Roscoe seems fine until he says this line sarcastically. It's never a great feeling when someone bails in the middle of a gaming session, especially during a boss battle, and this seems to happen to Roscoe with Nathan all the time.
6 "It's Novocaine's Favorite."
Sherry
Sherry is a newer clerk at Nathan's bank who he has a crush on. She makes the first move and takes him out for some cherry pie that Agent Dale Cooper from Twin Peaks would surely be jealous of. They then meet later for an art exhibit and when Nathan returns from the bathroom, Sherry is chatting up an old bully of Nathan's.
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At first, it seems like she's more into him than she is Nathan, but Sherry turns the tables when she orders this old classmate a shot. An extremely spicy shot, causes the bully to freak out even though she says Nathan loves the stuff, implying he is more of a man. It was a classy move.
5 "Everyone Has Secrets, We're Just Looking For Someone To Share Them With."
Sherry
The date goes so well with Sherry that she comes home with Nathan much to his surprise and delight. As they are talking over music, she finds out Nathan's entire body is covered in tattoos. Nathan did this art himself which looks good theoretically but it's hard to buy Jack Quaid ever doing something so daring on his body.
Fourth-wall-breaking moment aside, the two are about to get down and dirty when Nathan finds scars on Sherry's stomach. He knows she used to cut and Sherry confidentially says this line about everyone having secrets. Between this line and her acting at the bar, these two clues help foreshadow that Sherry is playing Nathan to get bank information.
4 "I Like Yours...Too."
Nathan
Nathan tracks the bank robbers down first to a tattoo parlor run by a mysterious man named Zeno. The due turns out to be huge, like a wrestler, and Nathan plans to get a tattoo while pumping him for information. When he sees Nathan's castle outline on his body, Zeno is impressed and Nathan wants to complicate him back which is when he sees a swastika on his body, and his compliment sort of trails off.
Eventually, Zeno figures out he doesn't know his client, with a fight ensuing. Of the few in the movie, Zeno is one victim that doesn't die although he probably would be better off since he did get his eyeballs covered in glass shards.
3 "Crossbow Under The Sink, Of Course."
Nathan
One of the best set pieces in the movie is a booby-trapped house done up by Nathan's first victim, Ben. Ben rigged his house because he was paranoid and perhaps because he watched Home Alone too much as a kid.
As Nathan is exploring the house and looking for answers, he gets a flail to the back, an arrow to his leg, and then gets strung up by a snare. Even when Roscoe tries to rescue Nathan, he too triggers a booby trap but thankfully he is protected by his helmet. More action movies should have rigged up houses like this.
2 "No, Not The Fingernails."
Nathan
Ben's house has more hijinks inside as his brother, Andre, finds Nathan hanging upside down in the snare trap before Roscoe arrives. To buy himself time, Nathan practically begs to be tortured instead of killed right away. His secret is that he cannot feel pain making any form of torture useless.
Nathan has to scream as Andre twists the arrow in his leg and pulls out fingernails, the latter of which is more gruesome than some scenes in the Saw movies. The only time Nathan truly reacts is when Andre threatens to cut out his eyes. While he can't feel pain, Nathan does still need to see after all.
1 "Sorry, Let Me Be More CLEAR!"
Nathan
Nathan has one classic action one-liner in the movie which comes in the last fifteen minutes. When Simon is driving them away in the ambulance, Nathan decides to use defibrillators on himself and Simon in secret to shock him off the road. He plans to mumble something, confuse Simon, and then yell out this line while zapping him.
While it technically works, the ambulance does crash pretty badly although it's no harm initially to Nathan because, once again, he cannot feel anything. While not the best line in the movie, it is funny to hear Jack Quaid say something Arnold Schwarzenegger could have uttered in an old movie.
Novocaine
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- March 14, 2025
- Runtime
- 110 minutes
- Director
- Robert Olsen, Dan Berk
- Cast
- Jack Quaid, Amber Midthunder, Ray Nicholson, Jacob Batalon, Betty Gabriel, Matt Walsh, Conrad Kemp, Evan Hengst, Craig Jackson, Lou Beatty Jr., Garth Collins, Tristan de Beer, Chioma Antoinette Umeala, Margot Wood, Dylan Skews, Keeno Lee Hector, Maria Vos, Dominique Maher, DeVille Vannik, Lance Elliot, Motsi Tekateka, Toni Jean Erasmus, Steve Larter, Drew Simon
- Writers
- Lars Jacobson
- Main Genre
- Thriller
- Studio(s)
- Infrared, Safehouse Pictures
- Distributor(s)
- Paramount Pictures
