Just when you think you’ve given up fighting for good, it pulls you back in. In writer-director Jay Curtis Miller‘s action short, Knuckles, that’s especially true when family is involved.
Not the happiest of Thanksgivings in East Tennessee for Nicky “Knuckles” Hughes (Taylor Novak), as he pounds away on a punching bag behind his manufactured home. He turns around and sees his wife, Alma (Mila Vilaplana), at the door watching him. His hands are bloodied and bruised, and he turns back to see that she was just a figment of his imagination. Nicky has a few demons of his own to deal with.
As Nicky pulls out a meager Thanksgiving dinner for himself and his brother Tucker (Mason Mecartea), Tucker sweeps through, grabs a plate, and heads to the junkyard to meet friends. Nicky doesn’t like it.
A bloodied Nicky Hughes raises his fist in the dark in Knuckles.
“Red made Tucker his sparring partner, and Tucker didn’t come out of the fight too well.”
While Nicky sleeps restlessly, his buddy Lionel (Brendan McCauley) shows up at the door and tells him Tucker is in trouble over a debt owed to Nicky’s nemesis, Red (Barron Boedecker). Red made Tucker his sparring partner, and Tucker didn’t come out of the fight too well. Now Nicky must confront his past once and for all…with two fists and years of fighting.
Knuckles is a story about a man who learns too late that fighting is not the answer, and about the life-changing moments that force us to become heroes. Miller orchestrates a tale that gives us Nicky’s entire backstory in just minutes without confusion. The man is loyal to those he loves and, as a hero, puts himself on the line for others.
Filmmaker Miller uses cinema well to tell Nicky’s story, especially in the fight scenes, like the final showdown where Nicky faces the big boss, Red. Good back-and-forth—how can you not root for the hero in the end?
For more information, visit the Knuckles official Instagram page.
"…given up fighting for good, it pulls you back in."
