Boardwalk

Director-cowriter Verona has crafted an affecting, effective look at senior citizens in the Coney Island area of New York, seen most recently in THE WARRIORS (1955). Strasberg and Gordon refuse to leave the dangerous area or pay tribute to the swaggering gang leader (Delgado) who runs the neighborhood. Little by little, Strasberg's life is eaten away as his wife dies, his cafeteria is firebombed, his neighbors are beaten, and his house of worship is desecrated. Verona manipulates the story so that we are straining in our seats to see the bad guys get theirs. And in the final scene, he delivers the goods. Yes, it's a revenge story not unlike so many others, but what...