We can not learn without pain!
Year Released : 2017
Director : Jordan Horowitz
Cast : Joey Klein, Evalina Marie, Kip Gilman and Pascal Yen-Pfister
So I’m starting to plough through my Youtube “to watch” list, so you never know, by the time I do eventually return to work following surgical recovery I might have actually worked my way through it entirely. I doubt it as I do actually have a few days coming up where I have plans, but either way, it’s nice to be able to catch up.
Today we move onto another one that has been on there for a while, “Painless”. Normally I think films like this will be half decent, but it was with a genuine surprise when I went onto IMDB saw a rating of 6.8/10, which is actually quite good, especially for small, independent films like this. It also has enough votes that I can take that as a relatively genuine score, rather than just the cast and crew going on and giving it tens to increase the rating, such as “Killer Kate”, the film I reviewed yesterday.
So based on that I am actually mildly optimistic for this.
Plot
Henry (Klein) was born without the ability to feel pain. One say Shani (Marie) drops some coffee on him and she finds it strange it doesn’t hurt him. After seeing his doctor, he runs into Dr. Andrews (Yen-Pfister) who offers him the chance to be involved in experiments as he is the opposite of Henry constantly able to feel pain. Henry declines before discovering a potential new cure for himself. He struggles to get hold of it as it is a controlled substance and starts to lose more hope, so he goes to Dr Andrews.
Nothing seems to change for Henry medically, even when he eventually gets what he hopes will be a cure. It doesn’t work though, causing Henry to get more and more desperate in his attempts to feel something.
Meanwhile, he starts a relationship with Shani, but how long can he last before she learns the truth?
So is it worth the relatively decent rating?
It is not often that I am surprised on this blog, but this is certainly one of those times. I saw that “Painless” had a score of 6.8/10 (at the time of writing obviously) and whilst I was hopeful it would be that good, it has taken me completely be surprise because it actually is. It is a rare occasion on this blog that I saw a movie with a decent score and it actually be decent. “Painless” is a film that deserves the relatively decent score.
I like films that make you think somewhat and this is certainly one of those. For example, they make a good point of making it clear that pain is something that people take for granted. Whilst virtually no-one wants to be in pain, it teaches us valuable lessons in life and more importantly, helps us protect our bodies. If you don’t feel pain it is harder to protect yourself and make sure that you are healthy.
The execution of this is done really well, with even some basics really helping, such as him being aware that you need hot water to wash your hands, but as he can’t feel how hot the water is he uses a thermometer to keep track of how damaging it would be. It is a very clever, albeit simple touch that a lot of bad movies don’t think of, separating them from the rest.
Now if you do choose to watch this then I can’t emphasise enough that this isn’t a horror film, despite the poster above making it out as being one. This is very much a character study that is hard to put into a specific genre and the only reason I have marked it as thriller is that that is what the description on a few sites seems to have it as.
There is definitely an audience for this movie and whilst I can imagine some being very bored as the acting is a bit stoic in places, for me it really works. Joey Klein (who might I add looks a hell of a lot like Alex Winter (Bill from Bill and Ted for those who don’t know who that is)) does a great job of capturing a character who is exhausted by his efforts and is on the verge of desperation.
Summary
A very solid effort and one of the better character study films I have watched in recent years. 
It does what a lot of independent films don’t do and that is the basics. There is a saying in football (as in actual football, not glorified rugby) that goes “there’s no point in trying the fancy stuff when you can’t get the basics right” and that certainly applies here.
This film made me think somewhat about how we take something as basic as pain for granted, which is a weird sentence to write.
I would definitely recommend this film, but don’t go in expecting a fast paced movie, it is definitely a slow build.
Sorry, never heard of it! 