THE NEST (2020) – Review

With the start of Autumn just a few days away, it’s time to get serious at the cinema. Though with this year’s unique (to say the least) circumstances we didn’t get much in the way of escapist “popcorn” flicks this Summer. But the big awards films are beginning to trickle in, and so we’re given this somber drama all about the “unraveling” of a marriage. At this time last year, the Netflix-produced feature, appropriately titled MARRIAGE STORY, ended up with many such trophies as it told the tale of the “uncoupling” of a duo (with a son). It did deal with the reasons for the “break”, mainly one half’s ‘loss of individual identity” along with the element of infidelity. That’s a big reason for splitting in most dramas, along with abuse (substance and physical/verbal). But, the movies haven’t often dealt with a big reason for marriage tension, one that usually lands in the top three “conflict causes” in polls and surveys: money. Or mainly financial management, as the “monthly budget” becomes the “weak link” in the family “chain”. And in this case, “filthy lucre” ignites a flame that threatens to consume THE NEST.

It’s the mid-1980’s and transplanted Brit Rory O’Hara (Jude Law) seems to be living “the good life”. He’s running the household in the suburban US while his gorgeous “Yank” wife Allison (Carrie Coon) manages a stable/equine training center (she’s also an instructor there). They have a good-natured ten-year-old son Benjamin (Charlie Shotwell) who loves playing soccer with his pals and Dad, and they’re raising Alison’s teenage daughter from a previous relationship, Samantha (Oona Roche), who’s an aspiring gymnast. Ah, but it’s not really enough for Rory. And so he drops a “bomb” on his wife as he wakes her with her morning tea. They’re going to move…to London. Allison’s blindsided as they’re been in four different houses over the last ten years. Ah, but this is different since Rory’s old financial guru boss wants him to run a new branch (Rory was quite a commodity brokerage wiz). And he moved to the states so she could be near her family, after all. So, while Rory sets things up “across the pond”, Allison packs up the kids and even ships her personal beloved horse Richard. They’re reunited when a cab brings the trio to the new digs Rory has rented: a plush farm/estate in Surrey. It’s hundreds of years old and massive. But there’s a big soccer field for Ben, and contractors are hired to build a stable for Richard (Allison may open her own equine business. Everything seems to be going well, but work’s not increasing at the firm as quickly as Rory hoped. Then the utilities are shut off (non-payment) and the carpenters don’t show up (ditto). Has Rory been truthful about this “new start”? Will the kids fit into these fancy schools? Are the O’Haras “in over their heads” culturally and financially?

The downbeat family fable rests on the very nuanced performances of the lead duo. Law plays on his still-dashing leading man looks to give us a compelling take on the “alpha dogs’ of the Reagan era, a man who’d be striving to get the attention of a Gordon Gecko, perhaps even emulating his style. Rory seems to believe his charisma and charm can still propel him to the very top even as he tries to control his career frustrations and keep his marriage “on course”. If only his spouse didn’t see right through his puffery and empty bravado. Coon builds on her impressive TV and film resume (still think she should’ve gotten an Oscar nom as the sister in GONE GIRL) with her focused confident and hard-hitting work as Allison. She shows us the conflict in her, putting on the supportive brave face for Rory, trying to keep the family working, but preparing herself for the worse. A heart-wrenching tragedy mid-story bolsters her courage, calling Rory on his “BS” while trying to nurture her kids. Ben needs her more than ever, even as Sam pushes her away. You can’t take your eyes off Allison with Coon’s electrifying turn. As for their kids, Roche subtly slides from approachable older sis to a snarky hellion determined to “go off the rails”, while Shotwell exudes a sweet vulnerability as Benjamin, who can feel the parental tensions more than they think. There are several engaging supporting players at Rory’s work, particularly his old pal Steve whom Adeel Akhtar plays with a weary affability, happy to see his old “mate” but leery of his affectations, and the big boss Arthur Davis (Michael Culkin) who seems to enjoy having his “attack dog” Rory back at his side, but is quick to crack the whip when he crosses the line, seething as he calls him “Sunny Jim’ through clenched teeth. The big scene-stealer (only one scene, but it’s a “corker”) is Anne Reid as Rory’s disenchanted Mum (he has told all that his family is gone) who is exhausted from his empty promises and denies him the warm maternal embrace he believes he’s owed.

Welcome back Sean Durkin, who has directed and written his first feature film since his debut in 2011 with the haunting MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE (he’s worked in the last few years on the TV mini-series “Southcliffe”). He builds on his strengths with quiet staging that lingers long after the final fade-out. Like that former film, he permeates the atmosphere of every setting with a feeling of doom and dread, all while subtlely foreshadowing the big conflicts. When Rory makes the move announcement Allison immediately commands him to perform a sexual impossibility. Later, upon minutes of arrival, she unpacks at the “palace” and scurries about looking for a place to hide her jewelry box that is built with a “fake bottom” for hiding her cash stash. Durkin doesn’t shy away from the more brutal and brittle scenes of passive aggression as when she torpedoes his idea for a “city flat’ and follows it up with a truly unpleasant Lunch (a later Dinner with potential clients is even more volatile). I only wish the film were a bit more cinematic, breaking up some scenes with more close-ups and medium shots allowing us to watch the actors’ body language and expressions. And I understand that the ’80s were a different time, but I found Allison’s relentless chain-smoking tiresome and more than a little nauseating (off my soapbox now). The plot may not be the uplifting sort of tale that many filmgoers hope to experience, and more may feel frustrated by the “open-ending”, but the performances by this superb cast make THE NEST an engaging if somewhat depressing look at a family shaken to its core.

3 out of 4