"The truth is, we're all achingly lonely, and we're endlessly searching for ways to fill that void."
— Duncan
Fingernails is a science fiction/romance movie directed by Christos Nikou in his English-language film debut.
The film is set in a world where a test can tell if romantic couples are truly compatible and in love by analyzing their torn-off fingernails. Anna (Jessie Buckley) and Ryan (Jeremy Allen White) are supposed to be able to go the distance, but Anna is still uncertain. She starts working at the Love Institute, which claims to help couples pass the test through a series of relationship-strengthening exercises, where she develops feelings for her coworker Amir (Riz Ahmed). Luke Wilson and Annie Murphy also star.
Following a debut at the Telluride Film Festival and a limited theatrical release the following October, Fingernails was released on Apple TV+ on November 3, 2023.
Previews: Trailer
Tropes:
- Ambiguous Time Period: The film is ostensibly set in the present day, but contains a lot of vintage technology (landline phones, Polaroid cameras, the TV set that Anna and Ryan own), nearly everything in the Love Institute is done on paper with nary a computer in sight, and even the machine used to administer the test looks rather antiquated. There are also numerous references made to the 90s (Ginger Spice is name-dropped once and movies like Notting Hill, Titanic, and Forrest Gump are given shout-outs) in a way that's clearly not meant to be contemporary, muddying the waters further.
- And Starring: The trailer lists the three leads and gives Luke Wilson the "and" credit.
- Bait-and-Switch: Anna and Ryan get dinner with one of their friends, who passed the love test with her longterm partner long ago. She shows up late, missing a fingernail, and seemingly upset, making them think they retook the test and failed. She then clarifies they took the test and passed, and was just messing with them.
- Book Ends: The trailer opens on Anna singing a few lines from Yazoo's "Only You". The song then scores the rest of the trailer, which ends on the same scene of Anna singing the song.
- Disposable Fiancé: Ryan is set up as this from the jump — he's the guy Anna is dating at the beginning, and they're supposed to be each other's One True Love as they've already passed the test measuring this. However, the complacency he displays in their relationship as a result makes her unsatisfied, especially after she develops a romantic connection with her coworker Amir. Anna and Ryan retake the test and pass — and she's so upset by this that she stays the night at Amir's and rips out her fingernails, implying that she will reject the test results to be with Amir.
- Everything Sounds Sexier in French: Invoked. The Love Institute uses French music in its exercises to enhance the romantic mood.
- Fingore: Part of the tests the institute conducts to determine romantic compatibility is the removal of one fingernail from both partners, which are then analyzed in a microwave-like device. Upset with passing the test again with Ryan, Anna rips out all her remaining fingernails at the end of the film.
- Karaoke Bonding Scene: Invoked, one of the romantic exercises Amir has designed to help measure and strengthen a love connection is for the partners to do karaoke on stage.
- Invoked Trope: The Love Institute deliberately invokes many Love Tropes to help their clients' bonds grow stronger as a couple.
- Longing Look: Despite ostensibly in a serious relationship with Natasha, Amir throws many gentle gazes Anna's way. She picks up on them and is how she figures he is in love with her (and not actually dating Natasha).
- Love Triangle: Anna becomes increasingly torn between Ryan and Amir, and even asks her boss if it's possible to be in love with two people at once.
- Office Romance: Anna falls in love with Amir after she begins working with him at the Love Institute despite already having a boyfriend. After much dancing around their feelings, they do end up getting together.
- One True Love: The test claims that they can tell if a couple is truly in love, as long as you each tear off a fingernail to be analyzed. This is taken as seriously as a declaration of soulmateship, with many couples splitting up if they fail, and many less-than-ideal couples staying together just because they pass. The test claims that Ryan and Anna are real love twice, but she's so unhappy with this result that she tears off the rest of her fingernails, not wanting a test to dictate her feelings for Amir.
- Romantic Rain: Invoked. The Love Institute plays rain sounds throughout the offices to enhance the romance. It just makes Anna's coworker want to pee.
- Shower of Love: Anna and Ryan, who are supposed to have a steady relationship, shower together frequently. She advises a young couple to do it as well to increase intimacy.
- Spotting the Thread: The first sign that Natasha isn't really Amir's girlfriend is when Anna notices she doesn't know about his gluten allergy even though they've supposedly been dating for a few months. Amir eventually admits that she's just a neighbor of his after Anna confronts him about this.
