Anna (Jessie Buckley) and Ryan (Jeremy Allen White) scored a rare perfect score of 100 when they got tested three years ago. That number means that they\u2019re both in love with each other, instead of a 0% (neither person loves the other) or an even worse 50% (the love is unrequited). Ryan is perfectly content with their 100 and their relationship, but Anna has begun to question if they\u2019d still get that score years later as they\u2019ve settled into their routine (or rut). Her curiosity leads her to take a job at the The Love Institute, which offers not only the test but also training so couples are more likely to get that coveted 100. There, she trains alongside coworker Amir (Riz Ahmed), who devises the exercises that help bring a couple closer pre-test. However, as Anna spends more time with Amir, she discovers a connection with him and wonders what their results might be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fingernails<\/em> plumbs similar veins to other darkly comic speculative films that use futuristic technology to comment on the nature of love and romance in the present world. It bears passing resemblance to Yorgos Lanthimos\u2019 The Lobster<\/em> and Michel Gondry\u2019s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind<\/em>, but it\u2019s not as dark as the former or as wildly creative as the latter. However, it is sufficiently thought-provoking in its questions about how we want to quantify or demystify love, how relationships require ongoing work, and what we\u2019ll risk for romantic stability and certainty. It\u2019s slyly funny, more likely to evoke a smirk or a quiet giggle than an outright guffaw, but still largely enjoyable for most of its running time \u2014 you know, other than when characters are getting their fingernails yanked off with pliers. It may not have the bite of The Lobster<\/em>, but it does still sting at times, due to both the physical violence and the metaphorical heartache on screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is Greek writer-director Christos Nikou\u2019s English-language debut after 2020\u2019s Apples<\/em>, but his first feature credit was on his countryman Lanthimos\u2019 absurdist nightmare Dogtooth<\/em> as a second assistant director. Fingernails<\/em> isn\u2019t quite as unsettling or deeply weird as that 2009 movie; Nikou\u2019s film more closely resembles The Lobster<\/em>, especially in its commentary on how the world is structured around couples. Yet his own earlier below-the-line work seems to inform Fingernails<\/em> too. Nikou was also an AD on Richard Linklater\u2019s Greece-shot Before Midnight<\/em>, the rare movie to address what happens after the initial spark of love fades. Fingernails<\/em> doesn\u2019t just deal with Anna\u2019s newfound attraction to Amir; it also handles how she and Ryan may have grown apart in the years since they took the test together. If you were in love once, is that all that matters? Or does it require choosing the other person each day and working to stay together? These questions are interesting, but Fingernails<\/em> itself grows monotonous in its last act (or maybe I just couldn\u2019t handle any more nails being removed). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Fingernails<\/em> isn\u2019t purely a fascinating concept structured around big ideas and a trio of nuanced performances from Buckley, Ahmed, and White; Nikou also brings a distinct style to the proceedings. Though set in a vague near-future, its aesthetic is pleasingly retro, with autumnal colors and old-school-looking tech that point to the \u201870s and early \u201880s. This is the type of film that could easily run cold with a clinical assessment of love, but there\u2019s warmth and life in both its tone and its visuals. Costume designer Bina Daigeler (T\u00e1r<\/em>) has clad everyone in nubby wools, lending a coziness to the overall look. Music supervisor Rob Lowry takes a similar approach for the soundtrack, with sweet, old-school favorites like The Flying Pickets\u2019 cover of \u201cOnly You.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Fingernails <\/em>won\u2019t satisfy both hearts and minds at the level of its masterful predecessors, but Nikou has written and directed a moving, thought-provoking film. This is a movie for people who like their cinematic romances dark, complicated, and off-kilter\u2014and who can handle seeing fingernails pulled, or at least can look away. These actors make that difficult; you want to see every moment of their performances, even under the threat of watching torture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Fingernails” is in theaters now, and streams on Apple TV+<\/a> on Friday.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/fingernails2-1024x576.jpg\")
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