‘Nasty’ Serves Up Punchy Portrait of ’70s Tennis Bad Boy Ilie Nastase Who Helped Define Era
Christopher Vourlias There’s a scene early in the documentary “Nasty,” a rollicking portrait of the ’70s Romanian tennis bad boy Ilie Năstase, where the Grand Slam champion’s mentor and longtime doubles partner Ion Țiriac recalls teaching Năstase how to ski. The young prodigy was a fast study — perhaps too fast. “He skied down perfectly,” says Țiriac, “except he ran into the fence because I hadn’t taught him to stop.” You’d be hard-pressed to find a better metaphor for the free-wheeling, fast-living Năstase, a “wild child,” “rock star” and “insolent, elegant, angry, whimsical bon vivant” who makes a fitting subject for the documentary, which was directed by Tudor Giurgiu, Cristian Pascariu and Tudor D.