“Fingernails” presents a world where true love can be determined by the torn-out fingernails of a potential couple. It’s just the latest film to to posit (and deconstruct) a scientific approach to love. Christos Nikou’s rom-com/body horror flick stars Jessie Buckley, Jeremy Allen White and Riz Ahmed. Anna (Buckley) is a new employee at a romance institution, which uses all kinds of science to quantify and determine true love.
While she is seemingly in a happy relationship with Ryan (White), she develops an interest in a coworker (Ahmed). Can Anna be in love with two people at the same time? Not according to the science touted by the Romance Institute. Oh, and Armi has a girlfriend as well (Annie Murphy).
The trailer shows off the various facets of a romance institution run by Luke Wilson, who calls the notion of being in love with two people “a biological impossibility.” We get a tease of talk therapy, Hugh Grant film festivals, armpit sniffing and the fingernail machine. As Nikou explained to Collider, the initial idea was to take a part of the heart for testing. Fingernails were settled upon due to their proximity to the ever-present cell phones.
“Our cell phones are the extensions of our fingers, and somehow right now, love goes through cell phones and love goes through technology,” the filmmaker said. “We’re looking for answers on our cell phones about finding love and connection. I think that’s why we wanted to find something that is a part of our hands.”
Penned by Stavros Raptis and Sam Steiner, Apple acquired the film at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. The FilmNation (which handled international sales) and Dirty Films production (Cate Blanchett’s production company) debuted at this year’s Telluride Film Festival where it earned mixed reviews. It will debut with a limited theatrical release and an Apple TV+ premiere on Nov. 3.
