What is love? This age-old question has perplexed humanity since time immemorial, yet it eludes a definitive answer. Is it the euphoria we feel when gazing into another’s eyes? Is it prioritizing our significant other’s happiness above our own or the assurance of never feeling lonely again? Can love, after all, be quantified and verified within a laboratory setting?
The Enigma of Love: Beyond the Heart’s Whimsy
Love is paradoxical: a primordial oxymoron that defies logic, embodying both chaos and randomness. It is as capable of creation as it is of destruction, as likely to bring joy as it is pain. Despite its complexities, we yearn for it.
Christos Nikou’s sophomore film, Fingernails (2023), available on Apple TV+, delves into the nature of love. The film introduces us to a world where love can be scientifically confirmed. A simple test—pulling our fingernails—feeds a machine that quantifies our bond. A score of 100% signifies true love, 50% suggests it’s one-sided, and 0% means there’s no love at all.
Quantifying the Unquantifiable: Fingernails and the Science of Affection
The film reflects on how the institution of marriage, once deemed the ultimate affirmation of eternal partnership, has evolved. With the rise of dating apps offering an infinite array of potential partners and the diminishing stigma surrounding divorce in many Western countries, the concept of irrevocable love has shifted.
Fingernails poses an alluring question: Wouldn’t it be reassuring to know we’ve chosen the right partner? The film explores this through Anna (portrayed by the remarkable Jessie Buckley) and her partner Ryan (Jeremy Allen White). While Ryan is content with their routine, Anna believes that effort is essential to nurture a romantic connection.
Intimacy in Instruction: The Love Institute’s Unconventional Methods
Anna’s quest leads her to the Love Institute, where she teaches couples to foster intimacy through various exercises. It’s here that she encounters Amir (also played by Jeremy Allen White), stirring her emotions and prompting her to reassess her relationship with Ryan and the validity of the love test itself.
A Nostalgic Aesthetic: Fingernails Homage to the Analog Era
The film is an invitation to dive into a world that seems out of time, a parallel universe reminiscent of the works of Yorgos Lanthimos and Wes Anderson—absurd and humorous yet addressing profound themes. Contrary to some critics who see Fingernails as a vision of the near future, the film cleverly alludes to a past devoid of smartphones. Its aesthetic, from film cameras to landline phones, alongside the set design, particularly the wallpapers, evokes the 1970s, suggesting a time for deeper connection unmarred by the distractions of modern technology.
Beyond the Science: A Philosophical Musing on Modern Love
Fingernails is a film of subtlety and creativity, infused with moments of genuine humour. Some may find it lacks coherence or logic, but it is far from shallow. The film presents a compelling narrative that challenges the viewer to ponder the essence of love and connection in a world inundated with superficial interactions.