'Nothing To Lose' Netflix Review: 'Dog Day Afternoon'-esque Crime Drama Is Engaging

Nothing to Lose is essentially like Dog Day Afternoon, with the major difference being that the main perp is holding the pediatric oncology war of a hospital hostage to get a bone marrow donor for her son instead of robbing a bank to gather money for the gender-affirmation surgery of the love of their life. Directed by Nawell Madani and Ludovic Colbeau-Justin, the film follows Jada, a chef as well as a boxing coach, and Paul, part of the ground crew at the airport, as they try and fail to conceive a baby through natural means. They learn that Paul’s sperm and Jada’s eggs are simply incompatible, which is why IVF won’t work. So, they are left with two other options: embryo donation or adoption. They go for the former and that turns out to be a success. However, due to Paul’s uneven working hours, he’s unable to be present for Jada and their son, Noa, which leads to the couple’s break up. Ten years go by swimmingly as Jada and her mother, Nadia, take care of Noa, with Paul showing up in the picture occasionally. But that healthy streak comes to an end as Noa falls ill and is diagnosed with leukemia. Noa’s case is so rare that chemotherapy doesn’t work; he needs to undergo a bone marrow transplant surgery. There is a donor but apparently the family is unwilling to help out Jada because they prioritize their anonymity over Noa’s life. That prompts Jada to turn on the heat and hold the pediatric oncology ward of the hospital Noa is admitted in until that family shows up with their child to perform the bone marrow transplant.

Now, as someone who watched Nothing to Lose without reading the plot summary or watching any of the promotional material, I am going to be honest, I wasn’t expecting the film to take the hostage situation route. The first few minutes of the film made it seem like this was a story about a couple trying their best to become parents. By doing so, I assumed that Franck Philippon, Nawell, and Pablo were commenting on the complications of IVF and embryo donation, and how these processes had been turned into “infinite money glitches” because people need their child to be “their own” instead of simply adopting a kid. When the leukemia reveal happened, I thought, oh, it was gonna be about cancer, the problems one has to face while navigating the healthcare landscape, the physical toll that cancer treatment takes on the patient, and the mental turmoil that parents of said patient have to endure. But then, at the 53-minute mark, it turned into a hostage thriller, and I am not gonna lie, I was flabbergasted. I mean, who can I not commend the writers for keeping me on my toes? I think they did a very solid job of building up to that final twist because by then, as the viewer, you are on Jada’s side; you know that her outburst is totally justified. And the stakes are so straightforward that you can’t help but root for Jada to secure the win by the end.

Despite playing around with a handful of locations, Nothing to Lose’s visual storytelling is competent. Much like the narrative, the cinematography, the editing, the sound design, and every other technical element kinda evolves throughout its runtime. The first few minutes are lowkey lighthearted and have a comedic undertone to it. Then it moves around like a proper drama. As soon as the hostage situation begins, it goes into Dog Day Afternoon mode. The atmosphere becomes tense. The pediatric oncology ward feels hellishly claustrophobic. And the uncertainty of which way this whole thing is gonna go truly gets to you. Now, I will temper everyone’s expectations by saying that it’s nowhere close to being as masterful as Sidney Lumet’s movie. I am pretty sure that when Nawell and Ludovic were making this film, they knew that they’d be hit with this particular comparison. Hence, instead of going straight into the hostage situation, they spent a whole hour building the emotional base of the movie. That does rob it of the chance to dedicate 100 minutes to just pressure, anxiety, and desperation. But, hey, if you are crying for almost an hour and then spending the next 40 biting your nails, I think that’s a win for the movie, right? Also, the movie has the best use of Apparat’s “Goodbye” since Dark. Not many movies or shows have used it since Dark has just set the bar too high, but this one makes it work by using the song to underscore the melancholy of the final moments that Noa shares with Jada and Paul.

The performances in Nothing to Lose are brilliant. Nawell undoubtedly carries this film on her shoulders. As the co-writer and co-director of the film, given how she’s playing the main protagonist, you can say that she’s being very self-indulgent. But the thing about that creative choice is that Nawell is such a magnetic performer that you can’t imagine anyone but her in that role. Guillaume Gouix aptly portrays the uselessness of his character without making him a punching bag for, well, anyone. Nicolas Briancon as the voice of reason in that chaos is excellent. His interactions with Nawell offer brief moments of respite. Paul Foure is extremely good. There’s a moment where he goes on a loud rant, which gives us a peek into the kind of trauma that the character is enduring, and it’s simply amazing. Majida Ghomari, despite her limited screentime, is splendid. Aissatou Diallo, Sarah Stern, Adrien Saint-Jore, Clementine Poidatz, Aurelien Chaussade, Steve Tientcheu, David Salles, and the rest of the supporting cast are top notch. I think my only criticism about the film is that it doesn’t exploit the hostage situation aspect of the plot to its fullest; and the time it does spend on that plot element is not utilized very efficiently because the discourse between the characters about that situation is very surface-level. Still, it’s worth a watch. Abi Damaris Corbin’s Breaking is a good Dog Day Afternoon-esque film too. And if you haven’t watched the Al Pacino starrer yet, just do yourself a favor and watch that.