Fingernails

No, sorry. This is just plain daft! "Anna" (Jessie Buckley) is living with "Ryan" (Jeremy Allen White) having got their certificate. What certificate? Well it's one that certifies that they are a love match! She was a teacher, but is now job hunting - so when an opportunity to work at the very facility that empowered their affection comes up, she heads straight to the office of boss "Duncan" (Luke Wilson) where she insists she would be great at "training" the couples who come to have their own relationships finessed and evaluated so they, too, can be verified. She is duly employed and paired with the inspirational and charismatic "Amir" (Riz Ahmed) - who clearly has his own secret to keep, too! What now ensues just lacks any sense of credibility and, for me, any attempts at satire just fell flat, quickly. The tests are fun, though. In a room where all are clad in just their smalls, "Rob" (Christian Meer) has to quite literally sniff out his girlfriend whilst keeping his eyes closed; another sees people charged with keeping eye contact whilst immersed in ten foot of cold water - presumably more preoccupied with not literally drowning in a sea of love! The coup-de-grasses? Well that's the crunch time when they wrench one of your fingernails - don't worry, you get to choose which one - from each person's hand then insert them into a microwave-oven looking gadget that looks like a cast-off from "Space 1999" before it announces - 0%, 50% or the dreamt for 100% - and that's bliss!. The point of all this being that it could end divorce and unhappy marriages for ever. Once in love, always in love...! Hmmm? Buckley reminds us, occasionally, that she has a fine singing voice and Ahmed is easy enough on the eye (reductive, I know - but we really don't have much else) but the story is just ridiculous, and that grown up adults would ever treat with such preposterous scenarios is just too far-fetched. It's not in anyway a comedy, and the predictable romantic elements come with way too much physical, collateral, damage. It is even almost earnest at times and after half an hour I realised why I was watching this in a cinema by myself. Nice to hear a bit of Alison Moyet on big screen sound, but that's about the height of this. He really needs to get his car window fixed, too!

Yes, I watched this solely because Jessie Buckley starred. But after the disappointing damp squibs of Saltburn and Maestro I needed a decent cinema fix. And I got it.

Don't get me wrong the story of testing love by burning torn-out fingernails is a tad silly, but Buckley and Ahmed manage to bring it to life. Buckley is excellent as Anna, a girl who can't make up her mind who she loves.

For me the story was that you can find what you think is love, until you realise that perhaps it's a deep comforting sameness that you're in love with. A ritualistic familiarity that makes you feel safe. The familiar face at the end of the sofa is symbolic of home and it takes a big wrench to realise that that face doesn't make you 'want' anymore.

Along comes a handsome prince and all is lost. Because love so often comes on the back of desire. Anna found that she desired someone that she didn't love, but does love grow from desire? Without desire you simply have a best friend. With desire you have what we mostly believe of as love.

It's a complicated tale with not any easy answer. But it made for interesting viewing and was thought provoking about how we love and desire.

I generally watch anything that has Riz Ahmed in and never leave reviews but I'm really glad I watched this and was surprised to see such a low score.

I found it a calm and peaceful film but I really felt it between Anna and Amir. I enjoyed subtlety of the question of whether love is enough.

Jessie Buckley is brilliant (I've only seen her in Men up until now and she shows a totally different side in this film) and I found her heartache so easy to connect with. Riz Ahmed is as excellent as ever and brings Amir to life gently.

Don't let the scores put you off, it's definitely worth the watch.

Fingernails started out with a pretty good premise--check your love for each other by testing an entire (painfully-removed) fingernail.

Jeremy Allen White (Lip from SHAMELESS) sleep-walks through his part in this story (not his fault, however) playing the sad, but happy, spouse.

Jessie Buckley appears to have gone to a blind chimpanzee to have her hair glued up sideways, and it never got better. The bed-head surely distracted from her appearance and acting ability.

As the story painfully progressed to the predictable conclusion, you are left asking yourself "Why didn't I stay home and floss the cat?" or "If they'd just turn down the air conditioning I could take a 90-minute nap in this building".

Not sure why I decided to watch this, I'm normally a sci fi guy, maybe it's because it was on Apple so knew quality would be up there, maybe I though it had a science fi edge from the 'testing' , or maybe I just fancied something different.

Well I got all of that and more. Jessie Buckley absolutely delivered a superb, real and emotional performance....i could feel every tug on heartstrings I didn't know I had anymore. Great performances from all 3 leads, but Jessie....just wow, I really hope this launches her career to bigger things, she deserves it after that.

Oh and the music was superb.....well done production team.