Jessie Buckley Shines Alongside Riz Ahmed & Jeremy Allen White in an Inventive, Dystopian Romance Film that Unfortunately Lacks Depth in 'FINGERNAILS'

by Darian Scalamoni

    Fingernails presents a look into romance that is one of three finite and definitive avenues, all which seem to end in painful results. In Christos Nikou's English-language debut feature, he tells the story of a woman named Anna (Jessie Buckley), who has a true desire to get all of the "answers" that come with love. With a system built in this dystopian society centered around fingernails themselves, two partners are able to tell if they're in love with one another. Whether that be 0% indicating that neither partner is in love, 50% meaning that one of the partners is in love with the other but it's not reciprocated, or 100% meaning both partners are a match.

    This process is done at a place called the Love Institute, which was founded by Dunan (Luke Wilson), who can be described as awkward, but curious on how to bring couples closer together through his company. Through his systemic process, he brings couples in after a verbal interview and evaluation, to do unique tests whether that be shock therapy, underwater eye contact or even in the most extreme cases, sky diving to test their true love for one another. When Anna gets a job at the company, she begins shadowing a veteran worker named Amir (Riz Ahmed). Amir is considered one of the top instructors and quickly gains the curiosity of the enthusiastic Anna, and after spending many hours in close proximity, the two begin to fall for each other.

    Within every in between stare and shared experience, Anna questions her relationship with boyfriend Ryan (Jeremy Allen White). Though they've been longtime partners and have even taken the test themselves in the past to complete fulfillment, the more time she spends with Amir, the more she realizes that she wants to be with him. It's a curious case study on relationships in general, and more so, how we grow apart from our partners despite feeling love for them. Nikou navigates this in a perplexing way, but as a viewer, I felt I wanted more depth and moments that fleshed out the reasoning for why Anna was enjoying her interactions with Amir, in relation to her intimate moments with Ryan. 

    While Buckley and Ahmed are standouts, there is more to be desired with this AppleTV+ original film. Nikou brings together some of the industry's biggest rising stars in the movie as Buckley and Ahmed's chemistry hold this film together like glue, keeping your attention on their stoic and emotional work. Buckley is quickly becoming one of my favorite young actresses, intertwining vulnerability and curiosity in a fascinating way through her performance. Meanwhile, Ahmed has a perfect sensual and contentedness to his character that we've seen in parts of performances previously albeit more serious subject matter in projects such as Sound of Metal and his two-episode arc on HBO's Girls. The two play off of each other beautifully in the film, while White is relegated to not getting much to do with his screen time other than be rather disconnected from his love interest. 

    Fingernails brings the viewer in with the unwinding of the strong thread built upon not only years of companionship but a sci-fi twist on our personal lives. It does remind me a bit of what a filmmaker such as Yorgos Lanthimos can do in his own narratives of love, complexity and monogamy, but Nikou steers too far on the safe side for me to love this film as much as I wanted to. While the case study that is this film on case studies is engrossing, it's hard to not want more from the finished product. In concept alone, Nikou crafts something that makes you think, while the film as a whole seems unadventurous in comparison to the theme set forth by the Greek writer/director. 

    All in all, Fingernails is worth a watch for the chemistry of its leads, remarkable lighting and camera work and originality. Though this overall is not a bad romance film, it fails in comparison to some of my other recent favorites that include this year's Past Lives and last year's pick up by Apple, Cha Cha Real Smooth. Overall, I give this film a:

7.2