{"id":4103,"date":"2007-09-02T09:01:47","date_gmt":"2007-09-02T16:01:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=4103"},"modified":"2022-12-24T21:05:53","modified_gmt":"2022-12-25T04:05:53","slug":"fingers-1978","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=4103","title":{"rendered":"Fingers (1978)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;I can&#8217;t seem to relax; my hands just don&#8217;t work right.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/Fingers-Poster-1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/Fingers-Poster-1-195x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"195\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-61274\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/Fingers-Poster-1-195x300.png 195w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/Fingers-Poster-1-667x1024.png 667w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/Fingers-Poster-1-83x128.png 83w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/Fingers-Poster-1-176x270.png 176w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/Fingers-Poster-1.png 723w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 195px) 100vw, 195px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nAn aspiring classical pianist (Harvey Keitel) in New York City tries to help his loan shark father (Michael V. Gazzo) collect on some outstanding gambling debts; meanwhile, he futilely pursues an aloof, spacey artist (Tisa Farrow).\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Character Studies<\/li>\n<li>Grown Children<\/li>\n<li>Harvey Keitel Films<\/li>\n<li>Musicians<\/li>\n<li>New York<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nThis &#8220;brutal, fascinating character piece&#8221; &#8212; writer\/director James Toback&#8217;s directorial debut &#8212; received mixed reviews upon its release, &#8220;impress[ing] some critics&#8221; and &#8220;antagoniz[ing] others&#8221;. Peary falls squarely in the former camp, lauding <em>Fingers <\/em>as &#8220;exhilarating movie-making&#8221;, and claiming that it &#8220;hits no false notes&#8221; &#8212; but I&#8217;m not quite in agreement. While it&#8217;s true that &#8220;every character and every scene is unusual&#8221;, the film as a whole meanders self-indulgently; Keitel&#8217;s pursuit of artist Tisa Farrow &#8212; despite being thematically in keeping with the character&#8217;s desperate search for love\/sex &#8212; is particularly annoying and uninteresting. <\/p>\n<p>With that said, <em>Fingers<\/em> is primarily known for featuring a powerhouse early performance by Keitel &#8212; and, in this respect, it doesn&#8217;t disappoint. Keitel&#8217;s Jimmy Fingers is complex and neurotic, yet &#8212; despite his &#8220;schizophrenic&#8221; tendencies (as Peary puts it, he&#8217;s a &#8220;nice guy who can be insanely violent&#8221;) &#8212; oddly likeable. His compulsion to carry a tape recorder with him everywhere he goes (before the start of the &#8217;80s boombox craze) is a particularly potent symbol of both his obsessive nature and his lack of social awareness &#8212; he&#8217;s not <em>trying <\/em>to annoy the people around him; he simply never considers the fact that they may not want to listen to his favorite tunes. To that end, it should be noted that the music in <em>Fingers <\/em>is wonderfully effective &#8212; I can&#8217;t think offhand of another film which so successfully relies on a &#8220;natural&#8221; soundtrack; after watching this movie, chances are that you will never be able to hear The Jamies&#8217; &#8220;Summertime, Summertime&#8221; again without picturing Jimmy Fingers and his &#8220;music box&#8221;.   <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Harvey Keitel as Jimmy Fingers<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/Fingers-Keitel.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/Fingers-Keitel.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-61271\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/Fingers-Keitel.jpg 853w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/Fingers-Keitel-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/Fingers-Keitel-128x72.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/Fingers-Keitel-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/Fingers-Keitel-480x270.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Good use of New York locales<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/Fingers-New-York.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/Fingers-New-York.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-61272\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/Fingers-New-York.jpg 853w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/Fingers-New-York-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/Fingers-New-York-128x72.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/Fingers-New-York-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/Fingers-New-York-480x270.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>A fine &#8220;natural&#8221; soundtrack (a mix of Jimmy&#8217;s beautiful piano playing, and the &#8217;50s pop tunes blaring out of his &#8220;music box&#8221;)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/Fingers-Playing.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/Fingers-Playing.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-61270\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/Fingers-Playing.jpg 853w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/Fingers-Playing-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/Fingers-Playing-128x72.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/Fingers-Playing-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/Fingers-Playing-480x270.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, but it&#8217;s recommended for one-time viewing for Keitel&#8217;s performance. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/imdb.com\/title\/tt0077549\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1978\/03\/19\/archives\/film-view-fingers-is-strictly-from-desperation-film-view-fingers.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/film\/reviews\/66678\/fingers.html\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t seem to relax; my hands just don&#8217;t work right.&#8221; Synopsis: An aspiring classical pianist (Harvey Keitel) in New York City tries to help his loan shark father (Michael V. Gazzo) collect on some outstanding gambling debts; meanwhile, he futilely pursues an aloof, spacey artist (Tisa Farrow). Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Character Studies Grown Children Harvey Keitel Films Musicians New York Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: This &#8220;brutal, fascinating character piece&#8221; &#8212; writer\/director James Toback&#8217;s directorial debut &#8212; received&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=4103\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4103"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4103\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89015,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4103\/revisions\/89015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}