Under My Nails

2012

Action / Crime / Romance / Thriller

2
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 50%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 50%
IMDb Rating 5.0/10 10 154 154

Plot summary

A Puerto Rican salon employee is forced to confront her own erotic desires when she becomes obsessed with the violent sexual tendencies of her new neighbors.

Director

Ari Maniel Cruz Photo
Ari Maniel Cruz

Top cast

Maite Bonilla Photo
Maite Bonilla as Rose
Antonio Pantojas Photo
Antonio Pantojas as Amalia
Enrique Julia Photo
Enrique Julia as Felix
Dolores Pedro Photo
Dolores Pedro as Perpetue
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB
933.7 MB
1280*714
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 41 min
Seeds ...
1.69 GB
1920*1072
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 41 min
Seeds ...

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by EdgarST 5 / 10

A Good Try

It is a pity that the good intentions behind this drama are betrayed by formulaic solutions and melodramatic dialogue. I decided to watch it when I found out that my good friends Antonio Pantojas and Dolores Pedro had important roles -respectively, as Amalia, the homosexual uncle of the main character; and Perpetue, a Haitian descendant trapped in New York- but they also had to deal with a couple of scenes written rather clumsily.It is also a pity because the story touches very realistic topics, as the abuse of women by their male partners, the frequent discrimination suffered by Haitians, the rather obssessive aim of some Dominican Republic persons of migrating to mainland USA (object of several films, as the drama "Un pasaje de ida" (A One-Way Ticket), and the comedies "Nueba Yol" and "Nueba Yol III: Bajo la nueva ley"), or even the role played by delinquents' mothers in their sons' behavior.The film tells the story of a Puerto Rican woman whose mother apparently was killed by her father, and who gets into a dangerous relationship with a man who abuses of his wife. Finely photographed in New York and Puerto Rico, it is worth a look, but not the good film it could have been.
Reviewed by themick2008 10 / 10

Smoldering and ominous

I've never written a movie review on IMDb before but I'm stunned that no one has written at least a few words on behalf of this entertaining movie.I watched it today on the HBO SG (asia) channel, coming across it quite by accident. I admit my initial intentions were salacious. The synopsis was along the lines of a young woman experiencing an awakening of dark sexual desires with a dangerous neighbor. I decided to watch for a few sexy scenes and perhaps move on but I stayed for the entire movie because it captured my interest and didn't let go. The movie doesn't rush itself but moves along at a steady and logical pace.The movie centers around a young Dominican woman living alone in a small new york apartment. She works in a nail salon, lives a rather solitary existence and is haunted by childhood memories of losing her father. I was dazzled by the performance of the young star, Solimar (Kisha Burgos). I've never seen or heard of this actress before. She is hot and sizzles in sex scenes, whether alone or with her partner Roberto (Ivan Camilo). Yet she is entirely believable as a lonely, isolated person leading a somewhat drab existence.Solimar's life is altered when a new couple move in next door. The woman, Perpetune (Dolores Pedro), is from Haiti, the man a fellow Dominican. Roberto's somewhat overbearing mother moves in too and is never very far from Roberto's side. Solimar can't help but hear the noisy couples' fighting and lovemaking through the thin walls. She becomes a voyeur, living a vicarious sex life through the couples sexual escapades. One night as Solimar listens into one of their fights she hears a loud thump and then silence. Perpetune abruptly disappears from the movie. Solimar imagines the worse.With Roberto's interfering mother being the catalyst, Solimar and Roberto meet and eventually begin an affair. Solimar is drawn in by Roberto's macho, direct personality. At the same time she is repulsed by the thought he might be a murderer and pulls away from him as she looks for evidence of his guilt. The tension maintains throughout the movie. Under My Nails doesn't let you go or falls into a predictable movie convenience. The outcome could swing either way up until the end.Ivan Camilo is very good as Roberto. He is a violent predator and at the same time he seems filled with self loathing and tries to move away from Solimar. Their explosive chemistry together won't allow the other to escape. The sex scenes in the movie are brave and a bit unseemly. These uneasy partners are driven by lust while their personalities continually clash. Nothing is glamorized.Much of the movie bounces from Spanish to English. Perhaps I was softened by my two years of Spanish in school but the subtitles didn't bother me at all. It felt natural for the bilingual characters to move back and forth between languages as their moods and comfort levels varied.I don't know anything about cinematography but all the production values of Under My Nails seem high. It looks like any medium sized budget movie coming out of Hollywood. The script is not weighed down by too many words. We see as well as hear how the characters develop.The ending was somewhat a let down for me because of it's non-action and non-resolution. Yet I think the ending works. We leave the movie wanting to know more and see more and that's why I think Under My Nails is successful and a worthwhile way to spend an hour and a half.
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