Tony Manero

Far more black-hearted and gripping than its premise might suggest, Tony Manero follows a fiftysomething Chilean man living under Pinochet’s military regime whose obsession with impersonating John Travolta’s famous Saturday Night Fever character dominates every facet of his existence. When a nationally televised search for a Travolta impersonator exacerbates his own dreams of showbiz stardom, he’s driven to commit a series of shockingly violent crimes in order to climb his way to the top, until eventually his meticulous, charismatic recreations of Travolta’s wardrobe and pelvic wiggles become the only things still linking him to some semblance of humanity. 

Updated 06/24/2009