Cherry Crush

Photography student Jordan Wells is expelled from his elite high school after taking provocative photos of his female classmates. Enrolling in the local high school, his talent for photography is hijacked by a female student whose ambitions involve getting rich by blackmail. Jordan, smitten with the girl, helps her dispose of a lover but doesn't realise that she had put him in the firing line for being an accessory to murder. When a corrupt detective tries to blackmail him into getting a secret stash of money, Jordan's life comes tumbling down.

Cherry Crush is an interesting thriller that has some good acting in it & a decent story that will appeal to the many fans out there of amateur high school photography. Jonathan Tucker & Nikki Reed play their lead roles quite well & the twists & turns are well rendered if not a little formulaic.

But despite having good prospects, Cherry Crush has some downers in the script. I can't believe that a rich student in an elite high school is kicked out because of taking photos of his female classmates when they can't be identified in the photos & there are no complaints given. The ending is also a little weak.

Very impressive! I thoroughly enjoyed Cherry Crush. It held my attention throughout and really picked up the pace at the end- just as a thriller should do.

I thought Jordon gave a fantastic, steely performance. I couldn't decide to root for or against him which is a exactly the sentiment you want your audience to feel in this kind of film. In addition to supplying a solid dose of climatic suspense, Cherry Crush was absolutely stunning to watch. Kudos for the cinematography. This is the kind of movie that's so beautiful it MUST be seen on the big screen. I have recommended Cherry Crush to friends.

Nikki Reed (American Gun, Thirteen, "The O.C."), Jonathan Tucker (In the Valley of Elah, Love Comes to the Executioner, "The Black Donnellys"), and Julie Gonzalo ("Veronica Mars") come together in this indy film that has some interesting twists and fascinating characters.

There is nothing you haven't seen before in a film reminiscent of classic noirs of the 40s. People aren't who they seem to be, lying and distrust abound, and the final twist is predictable, but getting there was fun as we follow Jordan (Tucker), a rich kid, and Shay (Reed), as they do their dance, with D (Gonzalo) as the ignored friend who is called upon only when needed, and who comes through as a true friend in the end.

Not DiBella's first film, but certainly the first to get any notice. Looking for more in the future.

Like many films starring teens or pitched to a teen audience, Cherry Crush falls short on intrigue and plays long on wrought dialog and narration. What Cherry Crush has that say, Cruel Intentions, doesn't have is a languid and saturated visual feel that distracts from the film's occasionally empty writing. The film has a similar feel to The Virgin Suicides, which also focuses its artistic energies on creating rich landscapes and detailed portraits of its characters (rather than character development). Director Nick DiBella's choice to prioritize style is a good one given his strength with the camera. It's no wonder that the protagonist in his co-writing debut is a photographer.

Because of its sophisticated cinematography and laudable go at film noir in color, Cherry Crush deserves to be offered to an art house audience. The story of a rich kid bewitched by a mysterious pauper isn't a terribly sympathetic, but putting the failures of the plot concept aside, DiBella captures his subject well.

Although CHERRY CRUSH involves murder and cops, it is not a crime thriller or murder mystery. Instead, it is a character study of an affluent teenager who aspires to a career in photography until he falls for one of his subjects, a fellow student from the wrong side of the tracks looking for the big score. In order to make the big score, she needs to bump off her current lover, a married adult who should know better. She involves the photographer in her scheme and before you know it, we're looking at a teen-oriented reworking of DOUBLE INDEMNITY, or for you younger readers, BODY HEAT. No suspense, unfortunately. And the gal with murder and larceny in mind is played by a nonactor named Nikki Reed. In fact, the girl next door in this movie, played by Julie Gonzalo, was far more intriguing. The young photographer is played by Jonathan Tucker, who gives a passable performance. A couple of the adult actors were instantly recognizable: Frank Whaley is the philandering adult with lots of money, and Michael O'Keefe is a corrupt detective with money and murder on his mind. The art crowd might enjoy this; it clearly was not intended for cineplexes.