Jude Law and Carrie Coon are quite good as a married couple watching their family deteriorate. On Prime.
The Nest
Grade: B
Director: Sean Durkin (Martha Marcy May Marlne)
Screenplay: Durkin
Cast: Jude Law (The Talented Mr. Ripley), Carrie Coon (Gone Girl)
Runtime: 1h 47M
Rating: R
By: John DeSando
British Rory (Jude Law) and American Allison (Carrie Coon) appear to have everything a youngish married couple could have in the ‘80’s: good looks, money, beautiful kids, and now moving back to his home, London. Wall Street was not enough for this gifted trader, whose previous company eagerly welcomes him back.
Following up on his smash debut in Martha Marcy May Marlene, writer-director Sean Durkin narrows his focus, with the appropriate tight shots inside a gloomy neo-gothic estate in Surrey. The background Britpop tunes from The Thompson Twins and The Cure early tracks, for instance, help place us in the ‘80’s and the energy of Britain.
The family is about to go through a challenging time when dad does not have the money he used to have, and he neglects to disastrous effect his family to pursue money and investment success.
When a savvy young cabby asks him what he wants out of life, he is at a loss to come up with an answer in a moment of revelation that diminishes for the audience his professional success and more importantly his interaction with his family. Like Donald Trump. He can’t get outside himself long enough to see that his family is the wealth he has been toiling for.
The Nest is another modern cautionary tale about dysfunctional families that can be traced to parental deficiencies. Only when one can see his weaknesses played out in his children can he begin to approach the humility that will allow him to connect with his children, wife, mother, and as well his employer. This drama is a smart family story for the holidays because it makes sure we don’t get too cocky ourselves about the perfection of our families.
Or, we can just look at our family assembled at the Thanksgiving table and feel much better after watching this cinema family struggle.
John DeSando, a Los Angeles Press Club first-place winner for National Entertainment Journalism, hosts WCBE’s It’s Movie Time and co-hosts Cinema Classics. Contact him at JohnDeSando62@gmail.com
