Image via Apple
Happiness only looks easy from the outside and people spend a lot of time hanging on by their Fingernails in this Apple original from writer director Christou Nikou. Emotions are fragile, egos easily bruised, and compromise is costly for those seeking long term relationships. Uncertainty and misinformation have created a culture of singletons dating from a distance, who brandish their instruction manuals on on-line etiquette and tread carefully when picking the perfect partner. A situation that makes falling in love almost impossible as nobody takes risks, less show their emotions, and physical attraction may as well come down to a scientific test. A thought that has clearly plagued Nikou for an age as he explores it flawlessly introducing Anna (Jessie Buckley) early on when she takes a job at The Pinewood Institute and meets Amir (Riz Ahmed) to guide others through compatibility tests.
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At its best Fingernails revels in the unrequited and explores those moments between couples when connections go beyond conversation, and sitting in silence is a pleasure to be reflected on by audiences as they get drawn into the dilemma on screen. Oscar nominee Jessie Buckley is the heart and soul of this film as Anna, conveying a range of emotions alongside her compatible partner Ryan (Jeremy Allen White), who veers between stoic detachment and contented indifference throughout. Their match is a scientific fact that does away with doubts, reduces the rules of attraction down to fingernails in a Petrie dish, and hits audiences head on with a universal truth about love that is both instantly ironic but tragically true.
Image via Apple
Where people come down on the argument of attraction is destined to affect their enjoyment of Fingernails, since incurable romantics may side with Anna and Amir, while realists are likely to hide their sympathies elsewhere. If nothing else it excels in the silences that exist between Anna, Amir, and Ryan who are each approaching attraction from different directions. Ahmed’s Amir is both fascinated and infatuated by Anna, only revealing glimpses of his loneliness to an enraptured audience as their relationship becomes an endearing love letter to intangible attraction. However, signs of affection between Ryan and Anna are defined through routine and lack any trace of intimacy, since science has robbed them of spontaneity, and worse than that, taken away any sense of mystery between them.
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These are two people who have lost touch with their instincts, packed away any ambition, and resigned themselves to a relationship defined by data. Writer-director Nikou sticks to low-fi tech and never explains the internal workings of the compatibility test, focusing more on the repercussions of a society shaped by certified feelings, as Ryan and Anna drift further apart and she begins questioning her feelings for Amir. This low-key love triangle rarely gets melodramatic but is consistently effective thanks to the top-tier central trio of Buckley, Ahmed, and Allen White, who never offer up easy answers for audiences as things play out.
Fingernails pulls no punches when exploring the uncertainty of attraction, since happy endings in love are often messy awkward affairs that bear no resemblance to rom com cinema. There are always casualties left alone to pick up the pieces of what once was, while trying to find happiness and move on. That is why love always looks easy from the outside, because inside there are two people just trying to make it work without a scientist in sight.
Fingernails is in cinemas now and available to stream on AppleTV+.
