Do you remember what you were like when you were in the eighth grade? I bet you thought you were an average all-around good kid who didn’t get into much trouble. Well, Maury has the test results and they have determined that you are delusional. We were all at that time in our life where we were being hit left and right with new hormones and feelings we had never had to truly deal with before. Whether it was learning how to navigate peer pressure or how to manage the scary changes our bodies were going through we were all monsters at times during this age as I am sure all of our parents can attest to.
During this time, many are left to raise themselves to a degree, as some parents are forced to work a second job to make ends meet or there are younger siblings who demand more attention from a parent. As a 13-year old making their way through these life changes, they begin to search for things that truly matter in life. All of those events and more are brought to life in the disturbing yet brilliant Danish coming-of-age thriller Nothing.
Nothing held its international premiere last week at Fantastic Fest 2022 in Austin, TX and is based off the 2010 book of the same name by Janne Teller. The movie centers around a group of classmates who set out to prove to a fellow student that there is meaning to life after he abruptly leaves his classroom and quits school.
The group decides to create a “heap of meaning” consisting of things in their life that they feel are important to them. Each student brings an item to sacrifice that they feel is of importance to quickly realize what they are offering are just superficial belongings and bare no true meaning to them. The friends then start over and one by one they pick what a person is to sacrifice. Whomever is chosen must put what they are told to bring into the heap. That character then picks the next item for another to donate and so on. As they move along the group the stakes become increasingly intense which is when the difficulty of watching Nothing ramps up.
It is impossible to watch Nothing and not to see the comparisons to Lord of the Flies and anything from Larry Clark, especially Kids. Even with those comparisons, Nothing stands out on its own with its shock level. As each character calls for another to contribute to the heap the repercussions grow and grow. This movie is another example of why I am glad I do not have children. Parents of young teens will have the most challenging time making it all the way through the movie as one scene in particular contains peer pressure and bullying that builds to the sexual assault of one character.
As you are watching the movie unfold, you cannot help but to ask yourself “where the hell are the parents of these kids at?” and I point back to earlier when I pointed out that many parents are having to work two jobs or watch closely over a younger child or as in a lot of cases they are too self-absorbed into their own lives to notice what is going on right under their nose.
The kids in Nothing are your run-of-the-mill type kids. They are not psychotic, weird, or even violent in nature – they just haven’t developed the ability to realize the consequences their actions will have. None of the kids appear to have a true moral compass, which leads to escalation of some of the darker donations to the heap.
Nothing features a cast of complete unknowns which I feel adds to the authenticity of their performances and was directed by Trine Piil Christensen and Seamus McNally. The direction by the two aided by the screenplay written by Christensen helps the film escalate quickly. The shocking moments in the film just happen as they would in real life and I for one find it refreshing. Not every horrific moment needs a giant build up. There are enough beats in each hair-raising scene that allows the viewer to catch their breath and ask themselves “did they just do what I think they just did?”
Nothing is an intriguing, dark thriller that hits the ground running and doesn’t stop until its 87 minutes are over.
Steven McCash is the Lead Music Writer and Utility Man for SoBros Network. Steven is the host of the ‘Drinking With…’ podcast, and the pioneer of New Music Friday, highlighting each week’s new releases in the world of music in addition to the occasional live show review. He also pitches in as a Nashville lifestyle writer and football analyst (hence the ‘Utility Man’ title). Follow on Twitter: @MC_Cash75
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