Now Showing: Made Men

 

Made Men

Genre: Action/Crime/Drama

Directed:Nicolas Winding Refn

Writer: Jimmy Ellis

Cast: Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Joe Pesci, Chazz Palmintieri, Tony Danza, Benicio del Toro, Moises Arias, Richard Cabral, Clayton Cardenas, Ricard Scarmaccio

Plot: Newspaper articles show up on the screen showing violent crimes happening throughout the city. The dates span over 20 years, with headlines such as, “Members of the Mexican Cartel hung from a bridge.”, “$500,000 dollars stolen from bank, believed to be Mafia.” And “Who are the Bloody Knucks?” The newspaper clippings show Mexican men hanging from a bridge with their throats sliced.

The final clipping shows that the Bloody Knucks have been arrested on a small bank robbery of all things. However they are charged with countless others. The next page reads that all 5 members are sentenced to 35 years. The next day of the newspaper’s headline reads, “Bloody Knucks not involved with Mafia?”

2018 – 35 years on from their prison sentence the five men are let free. The young men they once were are behind them. They all walk out together and greet each other at the gate. The oldest is, Benito “Thumb” Cerone (Harvey Keitel) is speaking with his younger cousin, Santo “Middle” Cerone (Steve Buscemi), he hugs and kisses him on both cheeks. Middle does the same back to him. The others, Milo “Index” Ciardi (Chazz Palmintieri), Grimaldo “Pointer” Andreoli (Tony Danza) and Vincent “Pinky” Scarlatta (Joe Pesci), all wonder over and greet Thumb and Middle. They all share a greeting kiss on the cheeks.

A black limousine show up and they get in. Riccardo Cucco (Ricardo Scarmarcio) is in the limo sitting opposite the men. He thanks them all for keeping their mouths shut while in prison about the way the mafia ran and still does run things. He says that his father would like to compensate the five men. He would like to give each of them $300,000 dollars each. He adds that the mafia has also bought 5 houses for them to live in, in Miami. The five of them like the sound of that and they tell him to thank Riccardo’s father. They are driven away.

2019 - The 5 men play poker at Thumb’s house. They all are drinking and laughing about the good old days, and how they never want to go back. Pinky adds that he never thought he would be retired. They play poker for a few more minutes with middle getting frustrated and going off his head at losing all his money.

The other 4 men leave the house and head home. Thumb walks over to get his nightly glass of whiskey, he has however run out due to, pointer’s drinking habits. He decides to go for a walk to buy some more, being an old man his steps are short. We follow him all the way to the liquor store where he talks to the lady on the checkout for a little while. He starts his short walk home until Santino Laguna (Moises Arias) jumps out in front of him, with a knife in hand. Thumb asks if he is sure he wants to do this and tries to talk him out of it, however 4 other men come out and surround him. They tell him to empty his pockets and start pushing him around. Thumb tries to swing a punch but is to slow in his old age. They push him some more and Laguna accidently stabs him.one thig rummages through the wallet and finds $200 dollars cash, they run, leaving the whiskey bottle smashed and Thumb bleeding out all over the sidewalk.

The other four knucks walk along the sidewalk laughing and joking until they come past a crime scene. Pinky overhears the name the police officers are saying to each other, Benito Cerone. He is shocked that somone would do this to him and tells the other three. They are all shocked and saddened. Middle wants to make sure so looks over the crime scene and sees Benito dead. He goes back to the knucks and says, “Whoever the F*** did this is going to F***ing pay.” They all head off to Pinky’s house.

Index toasts to Thumb. They turn the news on and it is revealed that Laguna has been arrested as the main suspect in the investigation. She also reveals that the court case will be in 2 weeks. They all look at each other sharing a knowing look.

Édgar Ocampo (Benicio Del Toro) sits on chair in his office counting his thousands of dollars. Luciano Moruga (Richard Cabral) runs into the office and frantically tells him that Ocampo’s cousin (Santino Laguna) has been arrested for murder. Ocampo nods and says he knows, he has it under control. He has them all under control.

A week later a funeral is held for Thumb. The only people in attendance is the Bloody Knucks. The bid farewell to their friend and leader. Ricardo Cucco shows up late and says that the mafia sends their condolences. He says that if there is anything they need the mafia will be able to give them as long as it’s nothing in the realm of violence. They cannot be linked back to the mafia.

The four men are back at Pinky’s and are pissed off at the death. They don’t want to get back in the life of crime, but this Cuban gang needs to be taught a lesson. Index says that they live without honor, killing old men. They broke the code and they must be put back in line. They agree that they will go to the courthouse the day of the hearing.

They wait outside of the courthouse. Laguna comes out surrounded by other members of the gang. They decide to confront the gang. Middle swears at them and spits at their feet. The pointer while being held back by index tells the Cuban gang,” You think you know what a criminal is, you have no idea.” All while this is happening the Cubans laugh. The knucks walk away with middle holding his finger up to them.

A montage shot is shown of the knucks putting their brass knuckles on and getting guns, finally they all put their suits back on. They drink a glass of whiskey, “for thumb”.

They arrive at the same corner thumb was killed. Laguna is their dealing drugs. Pinky spots two spotters for him. He tells index and he says they must be taken out. However first he tells middle to go up the alleyway nearby, they will try to force him down there. Pinky and pointer take out the spotters. Laguna sees this and runs to the alley. He stops in his tracks when he sees middle standing there polishing his brass knucks and smiling. The rest of the knucks surround him. “For thumb”. The kid looks at index, middle taps him on the shoulder and hits him with the brass knucks. All 4 men lay into him. The middle grabs a cinder block and drops it onto his head. The four of them head off to pinky’s house for a game of poker.

Ocampo the Cuban kingpin is seen talking with members of his gang. They tell him that his cousin has been killed. He wonders who by and remembers what they old men said to his little cousin. He tells his men to find and hunt down the old bastards.

The knucks are having their game of poker. This scene goes unbroken for 3 minutes, they talk about thumb and their past and how they don’t want things to be repeated again. Just then they hear a speeding car drive past and the house is shot up with a machine gun. Pinky is shot in the arm. They stay down as they don’t have their guns on them to fight back. The car comes back again but this time throws a Molotov cocktail into the house. There is a gas line which index notices and he tells them to get out of the house. They shuffle out the back door and jump of the pier into the water as the house explodes.

Pointer tells everyone that he saw the number plate as the car drove past, he tells Index the number plate and he write sit down. Pinky rings up the mafia and asks them for a favour, to find where that car is now. After a minute they get the address. Before going there they stock up on firearms at middle’s house. “Let’s get these mother f***ers”.

They arrive at the house of the car, pointer carries a baseball bat and the other have their brass knuckles on. They break the door down and approach the lone man (Clayton Cardenas), pointer hits him over the head with the baseball bat as blood spills out. The man is whimpering and begs them to stop. Pinky riles up and demands to know where the other members of the gang that were in the car are. . He laughs at Pinky until middle hits him a few times with the knucks, with a bloody face he begs for them to let him live when he tells them, index shrugs his shoulders. He tells them the address of all of the crew. They knock him out with the bat and put him in the trunk of the car.

The knucks show up at one of the gang members houses and storm inside. The group from the car are all sitting around a table snorting cocaine. They see them come inside and reach for their guns but pointer hits one with the bat and the knucks shoot the other 3 in the arms. They proceed to beat them down with the knucks, until they are unconscious. Index thinks and tells the knucks they are going to do what they did back in the day. They all look at each other and smile.

Middle retrieves the body from the trunk of the car. Each member of the knucks gets a knife. They slit the throats of the Cubans and tie their hands together. They put two in their own car and steal one of the Cubans cars to fit the other three. They tell each other they will see them later.

On the news the next morning it is revealed that 5 men are hanging from a bridge with their throats slit. On their chests is a carving of a brass knuckle. Ocampo looks to Luciano Moruga and tells him to find out who did this. He says he already knows, it was the old bastards. Their bodies weren’t found they must still be alive.

The Bloody Knucks meet up at Middle’s house and talk about what will happen next. Index says that they will keep coming for them if they don’t end this war. They all agree that they must go for the head. They gear up and set out to Star Island.

Index steals a boat by hotwiring it. The crew head over to Star Island on the boat. They arrive on the shore and head straight to the mansion with the Cuban flag. They see one guard out the front and Middle stabs him in the throat 3 times, however the Cuban manages to get a gunshot off alerting the kingpin and everyone else.

The kingpin tells Moruga that the men are here and to go and kill them, no matter what. He agrees and takes other men with him. The knucks storm the mansion killing many Cubans, in gruesome ways, with their knucks, guns and bats. They reach Moruga and his lot of men. Hand to hand combat is too much for Middle going up a big man and he is choked to death, the other have their own lives to take care of now. Index goes slams bodies down all over the ground then stabbing them. He reaches Moruga but Moruga is too quick for him and slips under the swinging bat. Moruga repeatedly stabs Index in the ribs leaving him to die. Pinky and Pointer go crazy and start shooting all of the men. Pointer grabs the baseball bat and hits Moruga’s head until he is unrecognisable.

They storm the office of Ocampo, who starts shooting at them both. He runs out of ammo and as he frantically tries to reload, Pinky and Pointer unload their guns into his body. The look at their brother lifeless and tears drip down their face, “this is the end of an era.’

Newspaper clippings appear again, showing the massacre at the Cuban mansion and the dead bodies hanging from the bridge. The in Memoriam section of the newspaper shows Santo “Middle” Cerone (12/13/1957 – 7/10/2019) and Benito “Index” Ciardi (5/19/1952 – 7/10/2019).

A photo of the 5 men after they get out of prison appears, they are all happy. Those who died disappear, showing only Pinky and Pointer left.