The Nest (2020) Movie Review
The Nest is the second feature film from director Sean Durkin. You might remember his first offering, Martha Marcy May Marlene, which had an amazing cast including Julia Garner and Elizabeth Olsen. The Nest is a little more subdued and is set in the 1980’s.
We are introduced to a couple, Englishman Rory (Jude Law) and his American wife Allison (Carrie Coon). They have two kids Sam (Oona Roche) and Ben (Charlie Shotwell). They’re living in America and we see a snapshot of their seemingly picturesque life. The kids go to school and play soccer in the yard with Rory. Allison works at a stable and rides her horse, Richmond, in her spare time. It seems charmingly harmonious.
One day, Rory decides they must upend their lives because he was offered a good job in England. Allison and the children aren’t wild about the idea but if it’s for the good of the family (and their pocketbooks) they all grudgingly go along with it. Uprooting the family to England sounds like awful, especially when you see the monstrosity of the house that Rory moves them to. It’s huge and drafty and dark. The house is borderline supernatural as Durkin litters the movie with moments where doors close seemingly on their own and shots of eerie hallways that could easily have spirits lurking in their midst.
As the movie wears on we see more of Rory and Allison’s relationship and start to put the pieces together. This is not the first time Rory has moved the family for work. In fact, he has a bad habit of jumping around every few years for a new opportunity. He also has a bad habit of wanting to get rich quick and presenting a lavish lifestyle to outsiders. Allison takes work on the side in secret and hides stashes of money around the house away from Rory’s greedy eyes.
The point of the movie is to watch this family’s secrets unfurl slowly, one by one. By the end of the movie you have a sense of the full picture and it’s not particularly pretty. Durkin’s slow burn is just that – slow. You get information drip by drip and have to sit and wait for new information to come to you.
The acting performances drive the movie and push you to keep watching. Jude Law seems born to play the slimy and embellishment-prone Rory who is obsessed with appearances. Carrie Coon complements him nicely as the more practical Allison who does what she must to save a little money on the side. Their interactions range from a typical couple in love to an angry couple who disagree on just about everything.
The familial drama is completed by the children. Oona Roche does a lot with the little screen time she has. Her character, Sam, varies between an angsty teen who dislikes her parents to actually caring about them as people. Roche performs quite nicely in this role. Charlie Shotwell’s character Sam is the more innocent one of the children. He’s younger and suffers from a bit of anxiety, made worse by the constant moving around. Shotwell’s young face does what is required here.
Every small moment in the movie is a fracture in the family’s “perfect” life, culminating in the absolute destruction you witness by the end. The Nest is a wait and see type of movie. You experience it little by little and it builds very gradually until it finally tips over. Durkin’s restrained little movie, winds up packing a quiet punch.
Film or Movie: Film
You’ll like this film if:
1. You like familial dramas
2. You like slow-paced character driven movies
3. You like the 1980’s
