The Nest is a new domestic thriller written and directed by Sean Durkin, where a family moves from New York to an English mansion, a move that starts off strong but quickly tears at the fabric holding their family together.
There is a lot I really loved about this film, most of all the lead performances. The parents in the film are played by Jude Law and Carrie Coon, and the two deliver some of the year's best performances. Law spends most of the film putting on a show for the people he meets, trying to prove himself to everyone and anyone as he works to make large entrepreneurial deals. There are two vastly different sides to his character and Law nails them both while also making each feel like the same person, a damn impressive feat. Carrie Coon as Law's wife is also a major standout. Throughout the film it always feels as though she is about to say or do something drastic, as the move and events following it clearly shake her without her directly showing it often. The two performances are elevated by just how well they play off of each other. Their chemistry is brilliant in how well they convince the viewer that they're in love, but also how well they can turn on one another. One argument scene between the two where Durkin allows the camera to roll through uninterrupted is one of the acting standouts of this whole year, with each holding nothing back. Their children are played by Charlie Shotwell and Oona Roche, both of whom have a lot of emotionally rich moments, and they never fall into weak child performance cliches.
As I stated before, Law and Coon have a brilliant scene where Durkin lets the camera roll through, and his patience is something I loved in the film. He and his cinematographer Matyas Erdely fill this film with patient shots, many of which are far from the subject, and these do wonders in creating a sense of suspense that permeates throughout. The film unfortunately has two large drawbacks. For one, the editing is a tad inconsistent. There are moments things flow perfectly but other times where Durkin and editor Matthew Hannam cut to a scene that adds little or nothing to the plot while also feeling unnatural from what preceded it, only to cut away before the scene finds its footing. The film also lacks a sense of identity. At times it is a strong domestic drama and at other times it seems to teeter towards a psychological thriller. If it stuck to either of these I would have been happy but it feels like a tug of war at times between the two tones. Additionally Durkin hints that there may be something more to the house, perhaps something supernatural, but he doesn't dive deep enough into those ideas to make them worthwhile. Instead we just get subtle hints that don't amount to anything. The ending continues this trend, leaving many hinted at plotlines up in the air with little payoff.
Overall the craft and performances of this film really wowed me, but there are some clear missteps that stop it from being something special. This is still a film I can rate fairly well though, and I'd recommend people check it out.
Rating: 3.6/5
Written by Matt McKenzie
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