Hot off an acclaimed turn inPromising Young Woman,Carey Mulliganhas signed on to star in the romantic dramaFingernails, which will be produced by two-time Oscar winnerCate Blanchett.
Fingernailswill mark the first English-language film from Greek directorChristos Nikou, whose latest filmAppleshas been selected as Greece’s submission for this year’s International Feature Oscar following its debut at the 2020 Venice Film Festival. Nikou is currently writing the script with hisApplesco-writerStavros Raptis, as well as British playwrightSam Steiner.
Mulligan will star as a woman named Anna, who increasingly suspects that her relationship with her longtime partner may not actually be the real thing. In an attempt to improve her situation, Anna secretly embarks on a new assignment working at a mysterious institute designed to incite and test the presence of romantic love in increasingly desperate couples.
Blanchett and her Dirty Films partnersAndrew UptonandCoco Franciniwill produceFingernailsafter serving as executive producers onApples, which left Mulligan impressed with Nikou’s filmmaking.
“Fingernailsexplores 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 told Deadline, which broke the news aboutFingernails. “We created the role of Anna with Carey Mulligan in mind and are thrilled that she said ‘yes’ immediately. Carey is such a talented and magnetic actress, and I was blown away by her performance inPromising Young Woman," added the director.
“After our partnership onApples, we couldn’t be happier to continue our collaboration with Christos Nikou onFingernails," the Dirty Films partners said in a joint statement issued to Deadline. “In a time when finding human connection is more important and more challenging than ever, Christos’ tender and refreshing take on modern romance is unique and profound. We feel Carey Mulligan – who we have long admired for her powerful and buoyant performances – is the perfect actor to help capture the surreal fizz and genuine heartache that fuel this brilliant vision.”
Festival audiences and industry insiders have been talking about Mulligan’s electric turn inPromising Young Womanfor the past year, and we’ll no doubt continue talking about it for the next several months, as she’s almost certain to earn her second Oscar nomination following 2009’sAn Education. Meanwhile, Mulligan has a new movie withRalph Fiennesout this weekend, so check outthe trailer forThe Digon Netflix. She previously starred in the streamer’s limited seriesCollateral, and she’ll be back once again forBradley Cooper’s upcomingLeonard BernsteinfilmMaestro.
