The Nail

I have been out many a night in Philly drinking it up with friends, whether it be at a club on Delaware ave or on the back of an Ninja up and down the busy streets enjoying the sights. Well the end of a perfect night usually means we top it off with a nice cheese steak from Tony Lukes- yum! Anyway Tony Luke Jr. stars in this film titled The Nail.

I’ll be honest I didn’t really expect much from the film but get this, it sucked me in with it’s characters. Whether I loved them or even in some cases hated them, I was still drawn to them to see what would happen next. The character development is gradual but satisfying. You know it’s good when you care about what is happening to the people in the film.

An ex boxer Joey “The Nail” Nardone is finally released from prison after festering inside for eight long years and virtually has to start his life over and rebuild everything from scratch. He takes a cheap beaten up apartment that houses a family with a young 14 year old boy named Jesus who is constantly beat up and bullied by other kids.

One day Joey intervenes a particular nasty beating and tells Jesus that he could teach him a thing or two about defending himself. Jesus thinks he is some sort of pervert and tells him off. Eventually Joey wins him over and they become very close. Jesus’ home life is horrible with a drunken Dad who likes to beat him and his mother.

Joey listens thru the paper thin walls at night wishing he could do something to help them from that awful man’s fury. The Nail is a cool nickname and eventually you learn why. I watched this film with a smile on my face and at times a tear down my cheek. William Forsythe was great as Joey’s buddy Mass, I’ll tell you the man has acting skills.