The Nest had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2020, and was released in the United States and Canada on September 18, 2020, by IFC Films and Elevation Pictures respectively.
In the late 1980s, Rory and Allison O'Hara live a middle-class life in New York City with their kids Samantha 'Sam' and Benjamin 'Ben', the former born from Allison's previous relationship.
Allison teaches horseback riding, while Rory works as a trader. Believing his opportunities in the States are limited, Rory persuades Allison to relocate with him to London, where he plans to return to the firm of his former employer Arthur Davis. Despite Allison's initial misgivings, the family moves into a huge old mansion in Surrey where Rory persuades Allison to start a horse farm on the property and brings her horse, Richmond, over from the States. Construction begins on a stable while Ben and Sam are enrolled in separate schools. Rory later takes Allison to high-class dinner parties with Arthur and his colleagues. However, the family has some difficulty adjusting, as their secluded location and respective commutes make it difficult for the children to get to school on time.
Several weeks later, construction abruptly stops on the stable. Learning that Rory never paid the builders, Allison discovers that his bank account is nearly empty. Rory promises he will have money soon, but Allison is forced to provide for the family by cutting into her hidden cash fund. Allison bristles at Rory's efforts to appear high-class while they remain nearly broke. At work, Rory proposes that Arthur sell his company to a larger American firm looking for a London office.
After brief consideration, Arthur refuses. Back at the mansion, Richmond collapses in pain and Allison is forced to go to a neighbouring farmer, who puts the horse down. Rather than go home following Arthur's rejection, Rory pays a visit to his mother, who shows no interest in his family and accuses Rory of abandoning her. Rory returns home late and gets into an argument with Allison over their financial woes and Rory's reckless, delusional behaviour.
In order to provide income to the household, Allison begins working as a farmhand. Allison's relationships with her children also become strained when Sam makes some disreputable friends and Ben gets into a fight with some school bullies. Rory and his colleague Steve arrange a potentially lucrative deal with a Norwegian fish-farming corporation. That night, he and Allison attend a dinner with Steve and their prospective clients while Sam and her friends throw a house party.
As the party gets out of control, Ben flees outside and witnesses Richmond's carcass being pushed to the surface of the grave due to improper burial. During the dinner, Allison openly mocks Rory before leaving the restaurant, taking the car and getting drunk at a nightclub. Rory attempts to downplay Allison's behaviour but his clients opt to go into business with Steve while cutting him out. Rory tries to take a taxi back to Surrey and confesses his many indiscretions to the driver, claiming his job is "pretending to be rich". With Rory's confessions making it clear that he is both broke and a liar, the driver anticipates that he will be unable to pay for the long fare and leaves him in the middle of nowhere.
The next morning, Allison wakes up hungover in her parked car and drives home, finding the house trashed after the party. Ben shows her Richmond's grave, where the carcass has risen almost completely to the surface. As Allison breaks down over the grave, Sam and Ben agree to make breakfast. Rory finishes the long walk home and finds his family seated at the table. He starts proposing a new business idea and another relocation, but Allison tells him to stop. Rory starts to break down and cry. Sam hugs him, then prepares a seat for him with them.
It had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2020.[10] Shortly after, IFC Films acquired distribution rights to the film.[11] It was theatrically released on September 18, 2020[12][4] and on Video on demand (VOD) on November 17, 2020.[13] In November 2023 The Nest was shown on BBC2.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 90% of 191 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The website's consensus reads: "An effective pairing of period setting and timeless themes, The Nest wrings additional tension out of its unsettling story with an outstanding pair of lead performances."[14]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 80 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[15]
The Nest was screened at the 2020 Deauville American Film Festival where it won the Grand Special Prize, the International Critics' prize and the Revelation Prize.[16]
