The Nest Film Review

Set in 1986, in an era before mobile phones, ’The Nest’ follows young couple Rory (Jude Law) and his beautiful wife Alison (Carrie Coon) in their move from suburban America to Surrey. Rory, a cocky businessman, takes up a new role in a small firm in the City of London, so he has uprooted his family (which includes a teenage daughter and a younger son) to live in the sticks – Surrey that is – where he has rented a mansion in the middle of nowhere (and paid the rent upfront for a year). Rory has big dreams for him and his family, he also has a big mouth and exaggerates all the time. Having grown up in England, he has outgrown his birth family and hasn’t spoken to them in years. But his ego, and big head, get the better of him, and a deal that he assures Alison will yield a big pay check is not forthcoming. Alison, meanwhile is happy at home tending to her horse and their two children. But who knows what Rory has up his sleeve next, and when he asks her to borrow money from Alison she knows something is terribly wrong with their finances. And so do we. Their marriage starts to unravel, as does Rory’s career, and it all comes crashing down one night where the tension and drama explode like a runaway train.

1986 was two years before the Wall Street crash, and in ’The Nest’ we see how bankers assumed it was easy to make a lot of money in banking. But the crash instead collapsed dreams and expectations – and that being very wealthy would not transpire for many. Law is just about perfect as a man who has visions of grandeur, while Coon (A Gillian Anderson lookalike who has starred in ‘Gone Girl’ and the television show ‘Fargo’) matches Law scene-by-scene. And while the finale might scratch a few heads (why does Alison try to dig up her dead horse from it’s grave?), ‘The Nest’ is a very well-acted and gripping film.