The Nest movie review by Movie Review Mom

MOVIE TITLE: THE NEST

RATING: R

LENGTH: 1 hour, 47 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: B

IN A NUTSHELL:

This is basically the directorial debut of Sean Durkin, although he has done other projects. His style is very unique and different in writing and filmmaking. It might not be to mainstream taste, but cinephiles will adore the artistry.

It offers a haunting and heartbreaking look at an American family imploding after moving to England where the entrepreneurial husband chases fortune and success, oblivious to the toll it takes on his family.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Profanity (some uttered by kids), including quite a few F-bombs
Sex scene showing skin, body parts, and sound effects
We see a woman topless a couple of times.
Teens party with alcohol
Adults drink alcohol and some get drunk.
You see a dead horse several times.
Parents will feel sorry for the kids in the film who are practically abandoned by their parents.

THEMES:

Family disfunction
Marriage: communication, expectations, teamwork
Image vs. substance
Power, money, prestige, and what is sacrificed to get it. How much money do you really need to be happy?
Dishonesty with yourself and others

THINGS I LIKED:

Jude Law is pretty much great in everything he does. We expect that, so the surprise performance for me was Carrie Coon. I hadn’t remembered seeing her in anything before, although she has been in plenty of very good films like The Post, Gone Girl, Widows, and even Avengers: Infinity War. She was recruited to play soccer in college before she studied at the American Players Theatre. What is soccer’s loss is the Big Screen’s win.
The two kids did a good job too, especially young Charlie Shotwell.
The filmmaking is different from a lot of things we’re used to. Different is good!
The absence of light in many scenes shines a light on movements and causes our eyes to see intriguing things.
The close-ups on facial expressions are intimate and telling. I heard one critic say, “When their life closes in on them, so does the camera.” Good point.
You’ll feel uncomfortable as if you’re a “Peeping Tom” spying on a family’s day-to-day life.
The one funny moment is when the wife takes a swig from an open bottle of wine at a restaurant and says, “It’s fine. We’ll take it.”
It’s so sad that Rory hasn’t seen his mother in many, many years.
The story does a great job contrasting a wife who is relatively down-to-earth and loves horses with a husband who is willing to sacrifice his family for money. The story takes place in the 80s when the economy was booming, headed for a crash.
It’s fascinating to watch how the various family members react to the feeling of being trapped in life’s situations.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

There is an element of the movie that suggests there is something paranormal occurring in the English manor, but this is not a horror movie, contrary to what the creepy music at the beginning of the movie suggests. Some are saying this movie is a horror film, although it definitely doesn’t fit into that traditional genre. The horrifying part of the movie is watching the family fall apart before our eyes.
Some viewers will complain it’s too slow-moving.
This is not a feel-good film but a cautionary tale.
Feminists will protest that the Alpha husband says he’s in charge of the family and that the wife steps back to let him lead. There’s no real teamwork in the marriage.
Some people will be confused by the scene of the horse in the shallow grave.

INTERESTING LINES:

“I shouldn’t need to be invited into your life. I’m your mother.” – Rory’s mother
“You can blame xxx on me, Sam, but you’re the one who’s going to have to live with your choices.” – Allison O’Hara (Carrie Coon)
“What do you do?” – taxi driver “I pretend I’m rich.” – Rory O’Hara (Jude Law)

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