Cast: Steve Martin, Helena Bonham Carter, Laura Dern, Elias Koteas, Scott Caan
Director: David Atkins
Producers: Paul Mones, Daniel M. Rosenberg
Screenplay: David Atkins
Cinematography: Vilko Filac
Music: Danny Elfman, Steve Bartek
U.S. Distributor: Artisan Entertainment
Novocaine isn't a bad film, but, as a noir effort, it's far from the top tier. (There are two better efforts currently playing in theaters: David Mamet's Heist and the Coen Brothers' The Man Who Wasn't There.) The movie, which is the product of the fertile imagination of David Atkins, is too obviously derivative of Hitchcock, and the small number of characters ensure that, by applying the "conservation of character" rule, almost all of the twists are predictable. Frankly, to the veteran movie-goer, there are few things more demoralizing than a predictable thriller. At least in this case, the energy level is high and some of the humor works. Nevertheless, I found myself underwhelmed, despite winning performances by Steve Martin and Helena Bonham Carter.
Martin plays Doctor Frank Sangster, a by-the-book dentist who has a successful practice and a well-ordered home life. He is engaged to his hygienist, Jean (Laura Dern), and everything seems to be going great until the day when his good-for-nothing brother, Harlan (Elias Koteas), shows up at his house and a mysterious-but-alluring new patient, Susan Ivy (Helena Bonham Carter), asks for a late-night root canal. Suddenly, Frank finds himself in over his head. His medical cabinet has been broken into, his girlfriend knows about his infidelity, and the police suspect him of murder. And the harder Frank tries to clear his name, the deeper into trouble he sinks.
Novocaine uses Hitchcock's favorite plot device, the accused innocent man, to moderately good effect. The movie keeps us interested, although instances of genuine surprise or intense suspense are few. Writer/director Atkins tries to incorporate a fair amount of humor into the dialogue, and, while having an actor of Martin's comedic timing is helpful, not all of this material generates laughs. In fact, some of it seems forced. The voiceover, delivered by Martin, has a wonderfully retro feel - it's right out of the cheesiest B-grade black-and-white noir flicks from the genre's heyday. We get delicious lines like "That's the nature of attraction - you find yourself doing things and you don't understand why" or "Lying is like tooth decay."
Of course, this isn't the first time Martin has played a dentist, but Frank is a far cry from the sadistic human plant food from Little Shop of Horrors. Martin portrays this character pretty much straight, and, while he lacks the appeal of a Jimmy Stewart or Cary Grant, he's reasonably likable. Helena Bonham Carter is at her sultry, slutty best. Laura Dern, meanwhile, is intentionally over-the-top. The movie also features Scott Caan and an unbilled Kevin Bacon as Novocaine's most consistent source of effective comedy.
Lovers of film noir will certainly be attracted to Novocaine, but a truly good comedy/mystery/thriller needs a less predictable script and/or more consistently funny humor. This is an sporadically entertaining motion picture, but it's not an unqualified success and certainly not the "find" that some people (most of whom are publicists) are claiming it to be. For twisty caper movies in 2001, give me David Mamet and Heist. Novocaine can wait for home video.
© 2001 James Berardinelli