Movie Review Fingernails

Fingernails (2023) 

Directed by Christos Nikou 

Written by Christos Nikou, Sam Steiner, Stavros Raptis 

Starring Jessie Buckley, Riz Ahmed, Jeremy Allen White 

Release Date November 3rd on Apple TV 

Published November 2nd, 2023 

If you could scientifically prove that you and your significant other were in love, would you want that? What does it say about you and your relationship that you would like or need scientific proof of your love for someone. Trust is the most important foundation of a loving, romantic partnership. If you don't trust your partner enough when they tell you that they love you and you need scientific, undisputed proof, that, for me, should be enough to prove that you are not actually in love. The new movie, Fingernails, lingers over this conflict by creating a universe in which love can be scientifically proven to exist between two people and how that effects the lives and loves of three disparate souls. 

Anna (Jessie Buckley) is in a loving, long term, relationship with Ryan (Jeremy Allen White). The two live together and have lived together long enough to have fallen into a comfortable rut, a routine that appears to serve their needs. However, Anna has started to long for something that she can't quite bring herself to admit. In one telling scene early in the film, she mentions how she always gives a certain piece of her food to Ryan. It's his favorite part but it's also a part that she really likes. But, in an effort to make him happy, she sacrifices what she wants for him. 

It might seem like a little thing but how much of yourself, your wants, your desires, you're willing to give up and feel resentment about are incredibly telling. It's one thing to sacrifice for the sake of your partner, but when does that sacrifice become too one-sided and who determines who should give up more of themselves for the other? When is enough, enough? It might just be a bite of food but the deeper meaning attached to it points the way to larger questions that will come to loom over the story of Fingernails. 

The story of Fingernails kicks into gear with a lie, another bit of damage to the foundation of Anna's relationship with Ryan. Instead of seeking a position as a teacher, the recently unemployed Anna has decided to pursue a career with a company that provides scientific testing of true love. It's similar to the place where Anna and Ryan went and got tested years earlier but even more intensive. At this clinic, run with gentle authority by Luke Wilson's Duncan, this clinic tests for true love but only after each couple seeking a test goes through an intensive relationship course that the company believes can set the couple to be in love by the time they take the test or drive them apart. 

Find my full length review at Humans.Media