X
- 2020
- R
- IFC Films
- 1 h 47 m
- 2020
- R
- IFC Films
- 1 h 47 m
Summary Rory (Jude Law), an ambitious entrepreneur and former commodities broker, persuades his American wife, Allison (Carrie Coon), and their children to leave the comforts of suburban America and return to his native England during the 1980s. Sensing opportunity, Rory rejoins his former firm and leases a centuries-old country manor, with grou...
Directed By: Sean Durkin
Written By: Sean Durkin
- 2020
- R
- IFC Films
- 1 h 47 m
- 2020
- R
- IFC Films
- 1 h 47 m
The Nest
80
6.4
Where to Watch
Summary Rory (Jude Law), an ambitious entrepreneur and former commodities broker, persuades his American wife, Allison (Carrie Coon), and their children to leave the comforts of suburban America and return to his native England during the 1980s. Sensing opportunity, Rory rejoins his former firm and leases a centuries-old country manor, with grou...
Directed By: Sean Durkin
Written By: Sean Durkin
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally favorable
Based on 37 Critic Reviews
80
95% Positive
35 Reviews
35 Reviews
5% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally favorable
Based on 37 Critic Reviews
80
95% Positive
35 Reviews
35 Reviews
5% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Jude Law channels swaggering disquiet, resembling both the tormentor and tormented of a Harold Pinter play.
The Nest isn’t a haunted house movie, per se, but it draws on some of the visual tropes of the genre. It frequently feels as if something sinister is lurking around every corner.
User Score
Generally favorable
Based on 45 User Ratings
6.4
58% Positive
26 Ratings
26 Ratings
31% Mixed
14 Ratings
14 Ratings
11% Negative
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
User Score
Generally favorable
Based on 45 User Ratings
6.4
58% Positive
26 Ratings
26 Ratings
31% Mixed
14 Ratings
14 Ratings
11% Negative
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
Marriage is not a dream story. At least not always and cinema has known how to exploit that in many ways, but not always in the best way.
Yet sometimes comes along the way a story that it may not convince you that marriage is something to aspire to, but I guarantee that it will be a good experience to watch it.
The Nest comes to touch that theme in the story of Rory and Allison (Jude Law & Carrie Coon) who apparently already had a worn relationship, but the routine of the family life masked the signs.
Something very interesting about this film is that for the most part it looks like a horror film, but it just isn't.
There's nothing supernatural stalking this family, what's hunting them, is their inevitable breakdown.
Director Sean Durkin delivers his second film after the notorious Martha Marcy May Marlene nine years later, and this one is unequivocally more challenging and far more accomplished.
But I must warn you, if you watch the trailers before you decide to see the it, and get expectations of a sort of suspense thriller, you will be quite disappointed.
The approach of The Nest is elegant, intricate and thorough.
It doesn't reward the casual viewer, it rewards the one who pays attention and is willing to dive into a story that isn't looking to satisfy you with a happy ending.
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Law manages to be both utterly authentic and glossily untrustworthy.
The Nest lingers long after the final credits. It may not have the same surprising newness that juiced the debut of Martha Marcy, but it casts an ineffable spell nevertheless.
Law can still make us smell the sweating his characters do when they’re gambling, striving and hoping like hell to keep all the balls they’re juggling in the air just a few moments longer.
Law and Coon aren’t the only reason to see Durkin’s marital nightmare of a movie, but they are the main reason to see it, and both of them give these characters so much shared history communicated without saying a word.
Sean Durkin’s sweated-over filmmaking tediously lifts a familiar tale of domestic dysfunction to the level of myth.
I loved how the story starts to give you subtle, little hints that there is a big problem lurking within this family that seems picture-perfect on the outside. The movie feels a bit like a slow build which culminates in a fairly intense final act leaving you wondering if this mans marriage and family can survive this. Overall I did not go into it expecting much but was pleasantly surprised, especially with the limited options available right now during the pandemic.
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This film has fantastic cinematography, pitch-perfect acting, a perfect score, and a wonderful mood. It seemed to be inspired by Hitchcock, from the patient unraveling to the font choices. I also enjoyed the cultural commentary on British manners and American gruffness that was perfectly portrayed in the marriage dynamics. That being said, that plot of this film never fully develops. After the O'Hara family moves to husband Rory's native UK and rents out a dismal mansion — the plot sputters to a question mark. The film is marketed as a "thriller," but these plot devices are never fully explored (suspicious deaths; intimations of the supernatural) — and ultimately, it leaves little as fodder for analysis. As a character study, it's interesting and nuanced, but it never hits the mark it could. Jude Law's character never faces his denouement, and thus a catharsis is lacking. I was very disappointed by this film, mostly because it had so much potential.
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Jude Law plays a stock broker who moves his American family back to his English homeland. He rents an old mansion, builds stables for his wife’s horse hobby and sends the kids to new schools. All of this disruption, plus his faltering career cause challenges to the family’s relationships. The spouse and both kids get moments that examine the evolution of their new situation and how it affects their connections with each other. Even so, it’s Law’s complex character that drives the drama and his creation of the man’s flaws and charms that makes for an absorbing character study. Interestingly, other than the teen’s music and the fact that the wife smokes in restaurants, there’s almost no evidence that this takes place in the 80s.
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The critics love this movie because of the good acting. However, the plot is merely a big tease. Story lines go nowhere. If you like to watch a family bicker and lie to each other, this will be your cup of tea. I thought the tea got cold.
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Pretentious .. overwrought.. pointless.. ham fisted symbolism that was more confusing than symbolic. Feels like half of a film.. gawd I despise these artsy-fartsy abrupt endings from hell! I can hear their thought process,"aren't we clever! We made an abrupt ending! I hope it gets the attention at the Cannes film festival!"
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Production Company
Element Pictures,
BBC Films,
Elevation Pictures,
FilmNation Entertainment
Release Date Sep 18, 2020
Duration 1 h 47 m
Rating R
Tagline Having it all is never enough.
Awards
British Independent Film Awards
• 6 Nominations
Indiana Film Journalists Association, US
• 5 Nominations
Canadian Screen Awards, CA
• 5 Nominations
