Jessie Buckley & Riz Ahmed Take The Lead In Twisted Love Story Fingernails

One of the hottest projects up for grabs at the 2022 Cannes film festival, new sci-fi romance Fingernails is shaping up into one of the most intriguing new films to keep an eye on. It’s directed by the Greek filmmaker Christos Nikou, who started his career under the mentorship of Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favourite, The Lobster) and whose own breakthrough came last year with his Greek-language debut Apples. So far, so promising. Here’s everything else we know about the forthcoming Apple Originals film.

Fingernails Cast

Heading up the film’s cast, Irish actor Jessie Buckley (The Lost Daughter, Men) plays Anna, a young woman who starts working at a mysterious institution as an assistant to Trevor, played by Riz Ahmed (Venom, Girls). Wes Anderson regular Luke Wilson and Schitt’s Creek star Annie Murphy have also been confirmed for the project, and Deadline reports that The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White is involved, playing Anna’s partner Ryan. Meanwhile, Cate Blanchett (Carol, Ocean’s 8, Tár) is on board as one of the film’s producers, with her company Dirty Films.

Originally, Carey Mulligan had been slated for the lead role of Anna — and indeed, Greek filmmaker Christos Nikou previously told Deadline that he created the role with the actor in mind. “Fingernails explores the modern experience of falling in love at a time when, though it seems more accessible than ever, romance has become so uncertain, complicated, and elusive,” Nikou said in Jan. 2021. “We created the role of Anna with Carey Mulligan in mind and are thrilled that she said yes immediately.” No explanation has been given when it comes to the reasons for her departure.

Fingernails plot

Fingernails is a “sci-fi love story” set in a futuristic age where married couples can undergo a test to discover whether they’re actually in love with each other. And entire institutes exist to help potential entrants succeed. When Anna (Jessie Buckley) gets a positive result with her partner, she’s not convinced it’s entirely truthful, and so starts working at one of these dystopian love institutes to find out more. Here, she starts to form a close bond while working as an assistant to Trevor (Riz Ahmed), who is described as a “a mysterious and dedicated instructor.”

Fingernails Trailer & Release Date

Though there’s no trailer for Fingernails just yet, some early glimpses into the film’s set gives a super-early indication of what’s to come. Onlookers spotted Ahmed and Buckley filming a hushed conversation together outside in the cold in early Dec. 2022. Though there’s no release date for Fingernails right now, the film is currently shooting in Toronto, as per The Daily Mail.