'Fingernails' is a Better 'Black Mirror' Episode Than a Movie

What if there existed a medical procedure that concretely proved we were in love with our partner? As long as we’re willing to give up an insignificant piece of keratin, a scientific device will determine if we were both in love, if only one of us was in love, or if neither of us were in love. How would a machine even calculate this, you’d wonder, when love is so incalculable when it transcends the boundaries of romantic monogamy every single moment?

Who even says that science’s definition of a complex emotional connection is the real definition of what love is; surely love is about the effort, the fluctuating feeling of stability, and about acknowledging all the problems that come with cohabitation? You’d likely think such a computation would be ill fit for humanity’s exploration and enjoyment of real, actual love. Congratulations, in two paragraphs, we’ve arrived at a conclusion that Fingernails takes two hours to reach.

In fairness, there’s nothing wrong with a romantic dramedy sticking to a simple, clear narrative brief. Anna (Jessie Buckley) has already had it proven she’s in love with her partner Ryan (Jeremy Allen White), and yet a creeping unease about the strength of their relationship leads her to covertly get a job at a Love Institute, led by Duncan (Luke Wilson, the only actor nailing the tone of what this film should be – silly and bitter). Here, she meets Amir (Riz Ahmed), who she works alongside to coach test-minded couples with various intimacy exercises designed to bring them closer together, but soon starts suspecting that their connection is undermining their own relationships at an alarming rate.