A dysfunctional young man is pulled between loyalties to his Italian mob-connected loan-shark father and his mentally-disturbed Jewish concert-pianist mother.A dysfunctional young man is pulled between loyalties to his Italian mob-connected loan-shark father and his mentally-disturbed Jewish concert-pianist mother.A dysfunctional young man is pulled between loyalties to his Italian mob-connected loan-shark father and his mentally-disturbed Jewish concert-pianist mother.
- Anita
- (as Georgette Muir)
- Christa
- (as Carol Francis)
- Riccamonza
- (as Anthony Sirico)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
This is Keitel's Taxi Driver. It is lesser known and not as great. The commonality is the lead. Keitel is masterful. He has so much internal fire. He is a man ready to explode at any moment. Now, times have caught up with filmmaker James Toback recently. He's had a career of extraordinary highs and ugly lows. It doesn't get much lower than he is today. That is beside the point. For this movie, there is greatness and his name is Harvey Keitel.
Still, Keitel makes it such a character of idiosyncrasies and at the same time a weird kind of charm that at first sort of reminded me of his debut in Who's That Knocking at My Door. He's aiming for concert pianist, of the level on Carnegie Hall standards. But his father also has him collecting/making bets, and thus getting into things of a sometimes violent and ugly nature. And there's always that radio, blasting out the 'golden oldies' of the kind they used to play on CBS FM in New York. There's even a touch of the Brando-type character in Keitel's mood and mannerisms at times, plus that compulsory sexual nature with women. Towards the end of the film this becomes almost too perverse to handle, and Toback always deals with such dicey material head-on, without pulling any tricks with the camera (in fact, he only so occasionally moves it). While the filmmaker tests the waters with possibly become unnerving and off-its-hinges with watching such unconventional material, more or less he pulls off what he wants, and Keitel is a force to be reckoned with as an actor here. He may lack the realistic volcanic force and wit of a Mr. White, but the not-totally-sadistic Mr. Blonde comes out with just a great hint of the obsessed artist in there too (and what great music there is).
In terms of referring to the 2005 French remake, the Beat That My Heart Skipped, I found that it might be one of those rare cases where the remake does out-do the original, at least in terms of dramatic involvement and in really getting more into the relationship between the father and son (plus there was more ambiguity in terms of the young man's mind state in the French version). But Fingers still holds its own decades later by standing out in the crime genre of the period, and it's up there in Keitel's underrated cannon of work.
It stands right there with Resevoir Dogs, Bad Lieutenant, and Mean Streets-all Harvey Keitel films which have over the years gotten far more applause than they did earlier..
Actually the premise is just enough unique: the concert pianist from the wrong side of the tracks, the carefree and confused collector for his bookie father.
Toback's dialogue is very raw, but it is on target for the very raw world he describes.
Michael Gazzo gives one of his best performances ever as Keitel's father.
Not to be missed, but if you look to Toback to recreate this magic with his later efforts, The Pick-Up Artist' or `Exposed', don't waste your time. Even his recent `Two Girls and a Guy' might have been `Two Mil Down the Drain' without the superb performance of Robert Downey Jr.
Did you know
- TriviaJames Toback claims in the DVD director's commentary that Michael V. Gazzo, who was fond of a drink, bribed him for a pitcher of Bloody Marys, in exchange for an unscripted line that would "make the scene" in question: the line was "I should have strangled you in your crib." and Gazzo delivered it "under the influence", Toback having been true to his word.
- Quotes
Jimmy: [to a girl he's just met] I want it from you.
Julie: Want what?
Jimmy: Love.
Julie: Why? Do you love me?
Jimmy: No, I'm in love with a girl called Carol. I love your...
Julie: My what?
Jimmy: Your pussy.
Julie: How do you know that?
Jimmy: Of all the different kinds of pussy in the world; soft, hot, gravel, velvet, cold, wet, big, small, there's only one kind I can feel in my blood on sight. And that's silk, which is yours.
- Alternate versionsIn the German TV version, the violent climax of the movie is slightly cut.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: What's Wrong with Home Video (1988)
- SoundtracksNow Is Forever
Music by George Barrie
Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
Italian lyrics by Pat Noto
Sung by Jerry Vale
Released by Buddah Records
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Fingers
- Filming locations
- Sutton Place Park, 57th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA(Jimmy's encounter with a cop)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $1,300,000 (estimated)