‘The Nest’ Review: The American dream becomes an English Nightmare
A dreary reminder that you always hurt the ones you love.
It has the makings of a Victorian horror film; an oversized British manor, a broken family, and the shadow of misery is cast not only on the dark walls of the monolithic mansion, but the film itself. However, writer/director Sean Durkin’s The Nest never has a pasty English child-spectre appear under a shear blanket, the horror lies in the modern family dynamic.
It is never explicitly said, but the story takes place in the 80s, with big hair and retro soundtrack in tow. Yet the family represents a more modern ideal of what family is, nurtured by Allison (played by Carrie Coon) and Rory (Jude Law). When Rory feels unfulfilled in their American life, he convinces Allison to move the family to London so he can once again network with the English nouveau-riche. Once the family moves, the dream begins to unravel.
The irony is, this nightmare version of the American dream was filmed in both Canada and England, and it is a very interesting choice to have the family unravel in England, perhaps trying to capture the dreariness of that aforementioned English ghost-story aura. There are specific elements in the film that lean towards a supernatural atmosphere, but they are extremely short lived, and ultimately fall flat. Durkin seemingly only wanted to tease the ambience of the ghost story. Only in this story, it is the American family that has died.
Placing it in the 80s seems like a more obvious choice. The height of Reaganomics and the birth of the Yuppy-generation is as engrained in American history as the soundtrack the film uses. Durkin’s subtext about the nuclear family becomes more textual than subtextual, as he pinpoints the exact decisions that family members make that can destroy relationships. Secrets and mistrust become that ‘ghost around the corner’; Allison hides money from Rory, Rory lies about his finances, the kids hide their own misery and even fall into rebellion and drugs.
It is, sadly, a story we have seen cinematically several times. On this plus side, it is a very clear and understandable parable warning people to be honest, and to focus on the simple things in life like trust and loved-ones. The family within the story, at the start of the film have a very simple life filled but appear to be the cheery, pastel-coloured family from the JC Penny catalogue. Their routine is that of a Norman Rockwell painting; gymnastics practice, a soccer match with Dad in the backyard, or finding time to drop the kids off at school every morning personify the dream. The juxtaposition becomes glaringly obvious when you see how distraught the family is in the end.
‘Glaringly obvious’ is sadly, the most appropriate tagline for the film. Carrie Coon carries the film in an absolute tremendous and grounded portrayal of Allison’s pain, sacrifice, and finally her breaking point with her husband, but again... there are no real surprises. The realness, granted, could be very much by Durkin’s design, but then I begin to question why Durkin wanted to tell this story. You expected surprise, and it never really comes. You expected supernatural, and it never really comes. You expected any kind of twist to the story... but it never really comes.
What we’re left with is a slow burn, a fairly straight forward story that is an excellent character examination, but lacks any real flair. Without any kind of real stylistic choices, other than the 80s aesthetic, the film really falls flat. It’s less fear and more drear, and while the story is not one that lends itself to anything other than drear, by the time the credits roll, nothing is resolved, and the only real thing audiences will feel is a sense of being unfulfilled.
The Nest is out in theatres today (limited release).