Quartile rating: 4.5/10 · 1 rating
A small town waitress gets a nail accidentally lodged in her head causing unpredictable behavior that leads her to Washington, DC. Sparks fly when she meets a clueless young senator who takes up her cause - but what happens when love interferes with what you stand for?
Accidental Love is a troubled production (formerly known as Nailed, a David O. Russell project abandoned mid-shoot) that was completed and released without his endorsement. The premise has some quirky potential—a nail lodged in a woman's head causing erratic behavior as political satire—but the execution is muddled and tonally inconsistent. The plot meanders without satisfying payoff, the acting from an otherwise capable cast (Jessica Biel, Jake Gyllenhaal) feels directionless due to the disjointed production, and the cinematography is serviceable at best. The concept had novelty but the finished film fails to capitalize on it, feeling more like a salvage job than a coherent vision. The ending is as unsatisfying as the rest, leaving little impression beyond the film's troubled backstory.