It’s difficult to lock down exactly when Fingernails, the first English-language film from Greek director Christos Nikou (Apples), takes place. The obvious answer is that this vaguely sci-fi drama is set in the near future, a time when divorce rates are so high, an inventor named Duncan (Luke Wilson) creates a device that can measure whether two people are actually in love, with only three possible solutions—they both are, one is, or neither of them are truly in love. The test isn’t binding or compulsory—and the majority of couples who take it get negative results—but it’s clear that society has taken this test to heart and a couple might break off a relationship/marriage as a result of a bad performance. (Oh, the way the test works is you have a fingernail ripped off and have it placed in a machine with the fingernail of your partner, since according to some anonymous doctor, any condition of the heart can be measured in your fingernails.)
Fingernails centers on Anna (Jessie Buckley), a teacher looking for a career change. She and her longtime partner Ryan (Jeremy Allen White) have tested positive and feel so fortunate to have done so they’re afraid to shake the tree too much and break from their relationship routines. Nothing about their day-to-day interactions screams that they are madly in love, but they also don’t seem to fight or disagree much, which is why when she gets a job at Duncan’s Love Institute, she doesn’t tell him because she thinks he’ll disapprove. The institute not only administers the test, but its instructors offer counseling and coaching to couples considering the test. They have programs that are meant to improve communication, intimacy, and just general romantic things that couples do, all with the hope that this program improves their odds of getting positive test results. The entire process is both endearing and creepy, and while viewers may struggle to figure out why this process is wrong or even unethical, it’s difficult to argue that advanced couples therapy is a terrible thing.
After being hired, Anna shadows another instructor, Amir (Riz Ahmed), and the two turn out to be quite the inspirational team, getting perhaps a bit too invested with their assigned couples. And the closer they become, the less sure she is that her relationship with Ryan is as stable and nourishing as their initial test led her to believe. Results can change, so some people take the test more than once (which means losing another fingernail, sorry). Anna gets the chance to take the love test with Amir without his knowledge (I don’t want to spoil that scenario for you) to see if her suspicions are true, providing the film with a hint of low-level tension as their chemistry becomes undeniable.
There are some characters in the film that refuse to take the test, others don’t believe the results are real or accurate, while still others (but not many) simply choose to ignore the results if the feeling with someone is right. Adding to the confusion of it all, when a test result comes back with only one positive result, the machine can’t or won’t tell the user which one of the couple isn’t fully in love. Also, a person can’t get a positive result with more than one person—a plot point I call bullshit on.
All of this junk science aside, it’s hard to escape the gravitational pull of Buckley and Ahmed, two of the finest actors of their generation, and watching them move through the machinations of this plot is actually quite captivating. The anxiety they both feel about the obvious fact that they are falling for one another and working in a place like this (and both in scientifically verified relationships) is real, and they wear it on their faces and in their body language in ways that are absolutely gripping. I’m mixed-positive on Fingernails, but I’m absolutely recommending the film because of these terrific performers. I noticed that Cate Blanchett is one of the film’s producers, as well, and I don’t hate that either. Chalk that up as another reason to be very curious about this movie.
The film will open Friday in select theaters and is available to stream on Apple TV+.
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