Unfortunately, Daniel Hall’s performance as Noam does not always achieve this lofty goal. As portrayed, Noam seems capable of only emoting either a threatening Batman-like growl or straight up shouting in people’s faces. To be fair, he isn’t given much to work with. Noam’s apparent penchant for photography, for example, felt like an arbitrary addition injected to give his character more dimension. But it is barely followed through on, so it fails to convey his conflicted mindset.
Ultimately, the film devolves into a series of visually repetitive chase and fight scenes between Noam and the various members of the gang. In classic noir mold, some gumshoeing is employed to find out the motivations of the thugs. It is also how Noam unlocks the secrets of his past. The twist is diminished by the extent to which it is merely an exposition dump.
“…diminished by the extent to which it is merely an exposition dump.”
Plotting is decidedly not the film’s strong suit, nor is the messy choreography and camerawork that often focuses on the wrong things within the fight scenes. It really highlights how hard it is to direct action. It’s not just a matter of choreography and editing; you need to know when and where to point the camera. Nothing Man tries to strike a balance between an action thriller and sentimental drama but misses the mark more than it hits it.
"…moves fluidly between several different modes..."
