Fingernails puts a lot of things about modern day relationships into perspective. It’s an alt-future story of a couple played by Riz Ahmed and Jessie Buckley who live in a world where a quirky device exists that basically tests the strength of your love, essentially letting you know if the person you’re dating or married to is the best partner for you by giving you a temperature read of your relationship.
Claire (Jesse Buckley) is married to the guy who plays the chef in that FX show about food that everyone loves. Their relationship has hit routine-love mode, dinner at night, little convos about other couples who are their friends, how was work? can I make you dinner? that kind of thing. It’s not a bad relationship. They respect each other and share secrets from time to time, but you know, it’s blah. They’ve settled into what they are. There’s no more growth in sight.
What’s that great line from Annie Hall again, relationships are like sharks. If they’re not moving, they die…
Claire takes a job working at a Love Institute, one of those places where a droll Luke Wilson plays the chief, where the aesthetic is muted in pale blues and pinks, and lots of whites. She lies about taking the job, to her husband. This was a major emotional plot point for me. She’s not working as a teacher at a school like her husband assumes. Bottom line, she, Claire, felt uncomfortable telling her husband where she wanted to work because she was afraid that if she did he would discourage her from working there.
After that, the story deepens. Claire meets Amir (Riz Ahmed) at work, who becomes her mentor. They try and fix the broken window of his car, and coach other deadbeat couples into intimacy, as they prepare them for the final test: Fin-ger-nails.
It’s a thing where each of you get a fingernail ripped off your finger. After your fingernail is clipped off, you are ready for your “love test.” It’s not as bad as it sounds, but it’s cringy and uncomfortable enough that you aren’t going to forget it. I thought the filmmakers did a very good job with this, I’ve always been a sucker for drama that successfully disgusts an audience through something visceral, and what can be more visceral than making you feel like you’ve lost an entire nail?
Then there’s what comes after that:
As Claire and Amir continue working together, their feelings for each other develop in ways that start to become disturbing and somewhat non-negotiable for them, both. Claire can’t help but look at her relationship with that dude from the FX show in a different way now. Decent as he is, there is wrong with their relationship. They know they’re in love, they have the proof of the fingernail test to support it, but the fire has gone out, and the more she gets to know Amir the harder it becomes to pretend that it’s still burning.
The tension between Claire and her husband is fascinating to watch, as is the tone of the film, which matches that relationship. At one point I turned to Abby and said, what’s interesting about this is that none of these characters are that interesting. And yet that’s what makes it so darn interesting. Their mundaneness fascinated me beyond belief. For some reason, watching people who I wouldn’t want to be like; not because they’re evil, or broken, but simply because they’re lame and plain, was kinda refreshing.
Because so often it feels like movies and novels and plays show us the extremes. People who we’re supposed to want to be like: 1. Michael Jordan 2. Martin Luther King, 3. That dude who made the bomb, and then people who we should not dare to be like; all those quirky characters you see on NBC comedy shows, or whatever crime show you’re watching about Serial Killer X. Here, in Fingernails, we get nothing but the droll and unfulfilled center of human achievement, and that had me at the edge of my seat.
Now I won’t ruin the ending for you. But I will say that this movie, at least for me, was not about the ending. It was about everything that happened in between. “The journey” as memoirs like to put it. Have fun with this one. Watch it with your partner, it’s okay to get a little scared.
BBW
Etc MOVIE REVIEWS
Maestro:
I’m not saying it was the perfect movie. I can bore you with talks of the aesthetics and what makes a movie quote-unquote good, but there are plenty of people who you can check out for that viewpoint. Maestro is a movie about a legendary Jewish-American composer that brings you into the intimacy and complexity of his family life and marriage. It’s as honest of a take on marriage as I have seen in a long time — dressed up as a bio-pic. It has two thrilling performances, and a complete knockout bravado performance from Bradley Cooper, who encapsulates the slimy existential brilliance of a creative genius in nothing other than pure inhabitation mode. Sultry and imperfect, I loved this film, and enjoyed seeing it in a movie theater where a movie like this should probably be seen to get the most out of it. Lechaim, however you see it.
The Killer
is a kinda-fine existential riff on the hit man drama made by David Fincher. It had some sass and some of the usual Fincher style, but, maybe because I watched it on my couch, was mostly a snooze for me. Maybe it’s the kind of movie you have to be in the theater for, I don’t know. Here’s what I’ll say (because truthfully I only got through half of it) if you’re someone who plays Grand Theft Auto and grew up addicted to Liam Neeson movies you might find some Tech bro solace here.
Killers of the Flower Moon
is vintage Scorsese in a lot of ways but something else entirely. Moody, strange, and extra in the best ways, it does a lot in almost four hours of movie run time that somehow doesn’t feel long when you’re watching it in the theater. I will say I watched it at the AMC (in Century City) which has by far the best seats of any theater in Los Angeles, way better than the Alamo downtown, which for some reason has limited its reclining abilities to your legs only. So I guess what I’m saying is that if I saw Flower Moon at the Alamo, where my back has to be straight the whole time while my legs get to chill, I might’ve really hated it. And If I saw The Killer at the AMC, I may be gushing about it as we speak! Fung shwayyy that shit, environment, etcetera makes a big difference. But go see this one, Flower Moon, I mean.
Unless you’re anti-violence.
Btw, the other day I got squeamish when my kid was playing a Jurassic Park shooter game at the bowling alley arcade, one I definitely would’ve loved when I was his age. I still let him play, but I felt weird about it.
Grades
Killers of the Flower Moon: A
Fingernails: B+
The Killer: N/A