Anna and Ryan have found true love together. It’s been proven by a controversial test. There’s just one problem: Anna still isn’t sure. Then she meets Amir.
There’s an offbeat insight to director Christos Nikou‘s “Fingernails” that you will either love or hate, which makes it a film that is divisive by nature. Smart, provocative, and moody, this unconventional sci-fi romance has a flair for monotone absurdity with its sparse tone and style.
Anna (Jessie Buckley) and Ryan (Jeremy Allen White) have been together for several years, and they’ve found true love. They know this as fact because a controversial new technology told them so. Science has declared their relationship as one that is perfect, so theoretically they should be extremely happy to be biological soulmates. So why does Anna feel that something is lacking? Riddled with doubt, she takes a job at the love testing institute where the basic fingernail test is administered to determine a couple’s compatibility. It is here that Anna meets Amir (Riz Ahmed) and begins to have romantic feelings for him, something that is a supposed scientific impossibility. This starts a chain reaction of confusion, chaos, and doubt, causing Anna to wonder if there really is a foolproof way to quantify love.
The idea of a test that tells a couple if they are in love is a great premise for a film, and Nikou (along with co-writers Stavros Raptis and Sam Steiner) bring home the point with a sharp commentary on the modern dating scene and relationships. Swipe left, swipe right, find your ideal partner; it’s never been easier to take the work out of chasing love. It’s a time where there are those who strive for absolute perfection and others who decide they’re okay with settling on someone that’s just “good enough,” which makes a world where everyone feels empty. By introducing the idea that the most powerful human emotion is something that can be 100% proven by science, the story takes the risk out of love by ensuring no more divorce or heartbreak. There have been thousands of films about romantic relationships, but this is a fresh and original take that blends emotion with science.
A sense of melancholy permeates the film (its style is very reminiscent of Apple TV’s “Severance”), with a story that’s set in present day but has a retro look and feel. The setting is not high tech nor super modern, which lends a timeless quality to the film. The writing is sophisticated and thoughtful, but it does become frustrating when the film fails to answer many of the questions it raises and instead relies on making the audience squirm by showing characters ripping off fingernails for the love test. Ask people what they remember about this film, and it’ll probably be those scenes above the more intellectual thematic elements.
While this is a great idea for a movie, the story is stretched too thin and can’t quite sustain the film’s run time. It starts out strong and then gradually begins to taper off, but the payoff is worth it in the end.
“Fingernails” is a contemporary love story about listening to your heart and experiencing life emotionally instead of examining scientific data and trying to understand things intellectually. The unpredictable nature of love is something that can’t be measured, and the film is a reminder to never let anyone (or anything) determine your fate.
