Reviewing "The Nest": A fantastic dark drama about unrealistic goals featuring brilliant performances from Carrie Coon and Jude Law

The Nest is a drama film starring Jude Law and Carrie Coon. Set in the 1980s, the film centers on the O'Hara family, consisting of father Rory (Jude Law), mother Allison (Carrie Coon), daughter Sam (Oona Roche), and young son Ben (Charlie Shotwell). The film starts with Rory deciding that his work prospects as a trader in American are limited and so he brings his American family back to his native England, upending their entire lives in a split-second decision. Allison, Sam, and Ben so realize they have a very hard time adjusting to the different culture of the UK. Not helping matters is Rory's overconfidence in getting the big break he believes he deserves, constantly spending big and making impulsive decisions all while his wealth dwindles, constantly reassuring Allison that he will soon make a lot of money and make a good life in England for himself and the family.

Due to the nature of the film's events, I would like to go into some spoiler territory for this review, so for anyone who has not seen the movie, watch it before coming back to read this review further.

The film's focus is on the increasingly dysfunctional dynamic of the O'Hara family. From Rory's overconfident know-it-all demeanor, to Allison's frustration at the slow unravelling of the family's, to Sam's increasing rebelliousness, to Ben's helplessness at the sudden changes in life thrust upon him by the move to England, all the way to Allison, Sam, and Ben feeling more and more alienated and out of place in the UK. Things get progressively worse when it is revealed that the cost of the move has left the family on the edge of bankruptcy, and Rory makes a reckless decision to propose to his boss that their company should be sold to a larger firm. His boss's rejection of that idea sends him on a downwards spiral and he visits his mother to excitedly tell her about his family and how he seems to be finding success by all appearances. His mother instead rebukes him and says that Rory has been out of her life for so long, she doesn't want anything to do with him anymore. Meanwhile, Allison's horse Richmond dies and so she is left without her primary source of income and even has to give Richmond an impromptu burial and work as.a farmhand for her neighbor.

When Rory returns home from his mother's place, he gets into a devastating argument with Allison about the family's bankruptcy and how Rory is increasingly unhinged in his attempts to over-exaggerate his own knowledge and sell some lucrative deal and essentially get rich quick. He believes himself entitled to getting rich and staying rich, all while just doing the bare minimum to keep his family together and being so completely deluded that he believes the next big payday is just around the corner even when it becomes increasingly clear to his family and everyone around him that his deals and plans aren't going anywhere, with all his promises being empty and sold on embellishments and outright lies. Through Rory, the film paints a dark picture of a man who believes he deserves wealth and privilege while coasting by on luck and words without substance.

The film is a frankly brilliant dissection of wealth and ambition, as well as lies and embellishments in the pursuit of a better life. Great performances from Jude Law and Carrie Coon make every scene come alive and its realistic handling of its subject matter mark this as a fantastic drama.

Score: 10/10