Netflix does this thing where they randomly select international titles on their streaming service and tap them for audio description. I’m not really sure what the wheel of algorithms that drives them to do this tells them in terms of supportive data. Pick this film because the English-speaking blind audience will like this one more. Don’t pick that one because the English-speaking blind audience won’t like it. It’s such a tremendous fallacy given the fact that a film like Nothing to Lose just kind of randomly and quietly dropped on Netflix with little fanfare, yet Netflix has had films in the Best Picture lineup like Roma with no English audio description. So, if they’re listening to some AI wheel of accessibility destruction, perhaps it’s time for a reset.
That being said, Nothing to Lose is a fairly compelling narrative, one that ends in one of the most unsatisfying and bizarre ways a film could possibly end. Aside from that, it tries to be one of those films where a mother will do anything for her child, which is incredibly relatable, I would think, in any language. Maybe that’s why Netflix’s random accessibility algorithm tagged this one for audio description. However, as with many of Netflix’s international projects, this one also has synthetic audio description. What makes this different is that Netflix has boldly decided to credit its text-to-speech voice as the narrator. It’s actually said aloud at the end of the film. They’re not trying to hide it. They’re not trying to play make-believe. They are fully embracing the fact that what you just heard is not human. It’s a bold choice. And while I abhor synthetic audio description, I also somewhat appreciate the transparency of labeling it as such.
Nothing to Lose reminded me a lot of an American film from the early 2000s starring Denzel Washington, John Q. And just by telling you that, I have already told you almost everything you need to know as long as you’ve seen that movie. The difference is that at the end, Nothing to Lose gives us a title card about how many children each year are diagnosed with devastating illnesses in France, and the number is somewhat staggering. So Jada’s story is not necessarily unique within her country, and I’m sure many French parents have felt the same hopelessness and outrage that Jada feels throughout the film.
The movie starts off with Jada and Paul, a young and optimistic couple hoping to start their family with a nice, uncomplicated pregnancy. While the attempts to get pregnant are certainly fun, it doesn’t go their way. Before too long, they have to look specifically for a donor because it would seem they cannot naturally conceive on their own. That means their son will not share Paul’s DNA, something that becomes critically important years later when their son, now around middle-school age, falls ill and doesn’t respond as well as hoped to his treatment for leukemia. They’re trying to find a bone marrow donor, but no match seems to pop up. There’s a waitlist, and there are many other kids in the children’s wing of the hospital who are all waiting for something. Some of them may not survive the film, but they provide friendship for Jada’s son while he’s unable to leave the hospital.
As Jada continues to watch her son deteriorate, she starts taking matters into her own hands. When she realizes there’s a possibility that the same donor could have been used elsewhere, potentially creating another child who could be a genetic match for her son, she becomes determined to find that family. Nobody is going to give her those answers, though, at least not through any normal channel. So eventually, Jada decides she needs a gun. The film becomes the story of a mother completely untethered, with only one thought left in her mind: save her son. She doesn’t really care whether she saves herself in the process. She puts herself at tremendous risk, and eventually the police believe they’re dealing with some sort of domestic terrorist and hostage situation when, from Jada’s perspective, all of this could be solved by one family allowing their son, who may be a genetic match, to take a test.
Will it all work out in the end? Is this film going to end in tragedy or triumph? That’s something you’re going to have to find out for yourself if you’re willing to sit and listen to a synthetic voice. As far as the writing goes for the audio description, I have to say there are times when it actually does a lovely job. Even the English dub cast deserves some credit, because whoever voices Jada is 100% committed to the emotional toll this role takes on her. There are scenes where Jada just screams and cries, and sometimes dub actors feel like they don’t really have to fully go there, or perhaps don’t know how to fully commit while matching someone else’s performance. Here, I actually felt a lot from the actor trying to match Jada’s pain.
There’s also a lovely audio description moment earlier in the film when Jada and Paul are in their apartment. The description does a nice job of explaining how the camera has them framed so that we understand one is in the dining room while the other is in the kitchen, sharing the frame while occupying separate spaces. Moments like that made me think there was a strong writer behind this synthetically narrated tripe. It’s one of the strange contradictions of synthetic audio description. There can still be a human being somewhere in the process doing thoughtful, creative work, understanding composition and recognizing what a blind audience needs to know, only for the final step to remove the human performance that could have brought that writing to life.
So there’s enough reason to sidestep the soulless android if this plot strikes your fancy. If you want to see a mother who will stop at nothing to save her son, Nothing to Lose delivers a fairly gripping version of that story. Netflix presented this to me as just another film on its streaming service, but it stood out a little bit. I’ve certainly seen them offer far worse, both among English-language American films and international choices that they thought perhaps I might like, which I absolutely did not. Nothing to Lose is memorable enough to warrant a positive review.
Without giving anything away, though, I truly disliked the ending to this film. I think it’s a cop-out, and it highlights the complexities of trying to wrap everything up in a nice bow. When you’re unable to do that, it feels like the director is basically saying, well, we couldn’t wrap it, couldn’t put a bow on it, so we just decided not to give you the gift at all. Which is kind of silly. After investing so heavily in Jada’s desperation and pushing her to such an extreme place, the movie owes us something more definitive than what it ultimately provides.
Still, you have nothing to lose by spending an afternoon with Netflix’s Nothing to Lose, except possibly a little bit of self-respect by having to listen to a synthetic audio description track.
Fresh: 7.2/10
