'The Nest' Trailer: Jude Law And Carrie Coon Fall Apart In Sean Durkin's Simmering Drama

Sean Durkin, the director of 2011's cult thriller Martha Marcy May Marlene, hadn't made a movie in nine years. But now he's back with another ominous drama called The Nest, which stars Jude Law (The Talented Mr. Ripley) and Carrie Coon (The Leftovers) as a married couple who sacrifice everything to move into a sprawling country mansion overseas, only to discover that all of their dreams and aspirations have been built on a disintegrating foundation. Check out the first trailer for the movie below.

Law and Coon are both exceptional in this movie, each turning in their best work in several years. The movie is all about money, power, image, and control, and there's a compelling power dynamic between them that never gives either one the upper hand for too long. Durkin, who has somehow only directed four episodes of television since breaking out with Martha Marcy May Marlene, is in complete control of this film's tone, dancing on the razor's edge of unease the entire time. Here's an excerpt from my review:

Durkin and director of photography Mátyás Erdély give the film a lush, prestige horror look, and there are times when the story threatens to tip into outright horror. Is their dusty old mansion haunted? Is there someone wandering the grounds, holing up in one of the mansion's many uninhabited rooms? Or is the family just haunted by the specter of another life they could be living? The film is full of deep, spilling shadows, a rich mahogany color palette, and some beautiful grace notes, like a profile shot of Rory framed against a sunrise or a pissed-off Allison backlit by the sun as she listens to Heart's "These Dreams" on her car's radio.

Your mileage may vary on the movie's ending, but there's definitely enough good stuff in here – those performances alone – to make this an easy recommendation. Here's the film's official synopsis:

Rory (Jude Law), an ambitious entrepreneur and former commodities broker, persuades his American wife, Allison (Carrie Coon), and their children to leave the comforts of suburban America and return to his native England during the 1980s. Sensing opportunity, Rory rejoins his former firm and leases a centuries-old country manor, with grounds for Allison's horses and plans to build a stable. Soon the promise of a lucrative new beginning starts to unravel, and the couple have to face the unwelcome truths lying beneath the surface of their marriage.

The Nest aims to enter theaters on September 18, 2020.