Fingernails: TIFF 2023: A Subdued Demystification of the All-Alluring Psyche

Any attempt to demystify the pursuit, and adjudication, of a concept as abstract as ‘love’ is bound to fascinate the human psyche. It is, after all, experienced by most, and striven for by many—the allure is only natural. It stands to reason, then, that the recent AppleTV+ original, a feature exploring a dystopia in which love can be quantified, and one’s soulmate, scientifically discerned, immediately garnered interest. This is the world of Fingernails: a locale not far off from our own, differentiated only by the introduction of such a love-quantifiable device—and the social expectation that, naturally, one should only strive to be with their “one.”

In Christos Nikou’s latest, the removal—and subsequent analysis—of two individuals’ fingernails provides the necessary quantification of a their capability for interpersonal love. The issue, however, arises when Anna (Jessie Buckley) and her test-certified partner, Ryan (Jeremy Allen White), begin to drift, resulting in her questioning what society has long deemed as not only valid, but gospel. Her qualms bring her to take a position at the Love Institute, delivering test procedures firsthand to blossoming and burgeoning unions—and place her in a collision course with Amir (Riz Ahmed), a single lab technician for whom her feelings quickly throw the test, and larger society, into question. 

While director Christos Nikou may not evoke influence through name alone, more embroiled cinephiles’ expectations may be heightened by the output of his mentor, the king of unusual and twisted himself: Yorgos Lanthimos. Unfortunately for Nikou, directorial notoriety, in this regard, seems more a burden. Though Fingernails has no shortage of conceptual intrigue, it maintains an atmospheric mundanity, far more in line with the prototypical sci-fi rom-com than any of Lanthimos’ output. There’s innovation, but little creativity. That said, is this something a non-cinephile audience might notice? Unlikely. Still, for a voice posed to act as Lanthimos heir and protégé, Fingernails falls just a hair too short in execution to reach the soaring heights expected of it. 

One reason for this may lie in the finale’s deliberately open-ended nature. Though intriguing in regards to the ambiguity it delivers—and the questions it forces to linger in the audience’s mind—it also brings along a weighty semblance of “so what?” Without a firm conclusion, the audience is left with little satisfaction, nor any semblance of stakes, consequences; it almost feels as though we’re torn out of the narrative before its final act. Buckley’s original relationship with Allen White is left unfulfilled, and the impact of her choices on the greater narrative society remains unremarked. Had there been just a fleeting exploration of such consequence, a weightiness certainly could have been accomplished; alas, as it stands, the threads remain frayed, unfinished, holding Nikos’ cinematic setting back from complete elaboration.

Still, there are certainly elements that maintain the film’s intrigue, elevating it, even, above prototypical streaming fare. AppleTV+ is oft lauded for its quality in original output, and Fingernails certainly remains a cut above in programmatic quality. Much of this can be attributed to the palpable chemistry that crackles between Ahmed and Buckley. The relationship between their characters, and the delicate balance of exploration and trepidation twined among them, is at once calculated and hypnotic, and the sterilized approach to the unexplainable—love—commands intrigue in a manner seldom explored on the silver screen. The two leads depict desperation, elation, heartbreak, in a depurated exploration of emotivity that imparts both fascination and emotivity. It’s the two of them who carry the narrative, and the two of them whose performances linger with the audience long past the closing moments, impressing the film upon one’s heart in a manner well-deserving of the central conceit.

Could the concept have been clearer? Could the barriers be pushed beyond typical genre conventions, Nikos delivering an execution less languid, more enthralled? Of course. Still, the central performance, elevated by the hypnotic chemistry of Ahmed and Buckley, provides much to latch on to, and for an exploration of a concept of such fascination, there’s certainly still much to love in Nikos’ latest, marking a sufficient, if moderate, success for the streamer.

SCORE: 6.8/10

★★★☆☆