Whilst she might have starred in a number of great TV shows, Carrie Coon remains one of the least recognisable great American actors. Coming late to the industry by way of the stage, the Ohioan has made a huge impression in just a short period of time. Most viewers will recognise her from roles in The Leftovers, Fargo or The Sinner, but she’s beginning to build up an impressive resume on the big screen. She continues this streak in Sean Durkin’s second feature, The Nest.
Rory (Jude Law) has ambition. The English commodities broker and wannabee entrepreneur is determined to strike it rich. This is what drives him forward. Consumes him. His beautiful American wife Allison (Coon) and their children can merely follow. When he returns to work for his old firm in England, they find themselves secluded in a manor house in rural Surrey. Whilst he chases the dream it soon becomes clear to Allison that something is decidedly rotten.
The Nest charts a couple whose brittle relationship gradually begins to crack in unfamiliar waters. Whilst on the face of it they seem like the perfect couple, this veneer is merely covering up years of deterioration. Coon is superb as the acerbic wife whose faith in her husband is waning. Law is also good as the self-obsessed Rory, trying to escape his past by becoming a ‘success’. The Nest is beautifully shot, festeringly atmospheric and astutely acted, but the sum of its parts never quite add-up to a cohesive whole.
The Nest is available on demand in the US from 17 November.
