Tenderness

I hadn't heard of this film until Redbox e-mailed me and reported it as a new release. I went out and rented it right away, curious to see what Russell Crowe had done as I like to watch him work.

Hats off to Jon Foster and Sophie Traub for telegraphing internal dialogue well enough to keep me nearly interested. There is tension, as you can't tell if Foster's character will act on impulse to bring more grief to the world.

Grief is the common theme. Life as Grief, Actions and Consequences as Grief, Breathing as Grief. Fortunately I took my Welbutrin this morning so I was in a pretty good mood both going in and coming out of the film experience.

All the professional elements are present: acting, directing, lighting, set design, and even a minimal amount of music. There is a story here, but its one that neither added to my life or made me feel better about the human condition.

Skip this one, don't waste the spot in your Netflix queue.

could not believe what I was seeing . this film is utter thrash from start to finish . The premise and storyline could have saved it but the script and in particular the dialogue is so poor I had to turn it off. Crowe makes his scenes bearable but the young actress playing the infatuated teenage girl is toe-curling awful and she is not helped by dialogue and nonsensical ramblings that one would expect to see in a film made by a twelve year old. Boring. Badly Acted. Badly directed. Badly shot.....even Crowe at the start takes on the strangest of William H Macy like accents but looses it halfway through the scene and for the rest of the film!! what was that about!?

In Buffalo, Lori Cranston (Sophie Traub) is a troubled developed teen facing unwelcomed sexual attention from her boss and her mother Marsha (Arija Bareikis)'s boyfriend Gary (Michael Kelly). Eric Komenko (Jon Foster) killed his parents at 15 and is getting released from juvenile detention at 18 to stay with his aunt Teresa (Laura Dern). His arresting officer Lt. Cristofuoro (Russell Crowe) is certain that he's a psychopath. Eric is driving to meet up with Maria (Alexis Dziena) when he finds Lori in the back of his car.

This movie wants to hold onto its secrets. The problem is that I don't particularly care. The first half is one long tease. The opening with Sophie Traub has a couple of compelling moments. Jon Foster has a quizzical look on him. There are many possibilities. The story has a very odd twist but not a thrilling one. Russell Crowe is essentially wasted in this movie. His character is unnecessary and the story may benefit without him. None of it really pulled me into this movie. If Sophie Traub could play it more disturbed, it could be an interesting character study.

'Tenderness' was first recommended to me by a close friend who I normally trust as far as judgment in film. However, when I learned the director, John Polson, was responsible for such films as 'Swimfan' and 'Hide & Seek', I had my doubts... As the movie progressed I found myself reassured by some emotionally provoking cinematography, strong performances, and an intriguing story. This film obviously is not comparable to Polson's previous flawed films. No, 'Tenderness' is actually substantial proof that Polson does have some talent in his bones after all.

After several years of juvenile incarceration for the horrific murders of his parents, Eric Poole (Jon Foster) is released back into the world amidst much controversy. While dealing with his wife's terminal condition, Retired Detective Cristofuoro (Russell Crowe) keeps close watch on Eric after his release waiting for him to slip up. Shortly after returning to his Aunt's home, Eric sets off to Albany to look at colleges. Suspecting that there is more to the trip that Eric is letting on, Eric's Aunt Teresa (Laura Dern) notifies the Detective of the trip. Fueled by an obsession by a seemingly chance encounter with Eric before the murders, a young and immature teen, Lori (Sophie Traub), forces a second encounter and finds herself accompanying Eric on his journey all while both searching for their own version of tenderness.

While it's no secret that this is not a perfect film, there is something to be said about this adaptation of Robert Cormier's novel. Instead of drawing from high suspense of the occurring events and without spelling everything out for the audience like most American films, Australian director Polson focuses on studying the film's characters. Though the characterization is a worthy effort, I still felt that the full potential of each character's depth was not explored. As long as you can get past Polson's earlier work and view the film with an open mind, you should be able to enjoy 'Tenderness' for as much as I did.

I had high expectations for this film, reasons contributing include a leading role by Russell Crowe, a relatively high rating on IMDb and predominately positive reviews. Maybe the reason I'm scoring this 5/10 isn't because it was bad, but rather it did not live up to expectations.

The beginning was good, as it introduced the characters well and left me wanting to see how the story developed. However, I believe the plot was average, in that it had much more potential, and Russell Crowes character was not utilised as much as it could've been. Of the three main characters, he appears the least.

The ending in my eyes was a little predictable, but maybe that's just because I'm a film buff. Despite being a little too predictable, the ending did saviour some respect for this film.

Overall, a slow paced film with which very little happens, which in a way makes you more likely to want to see the film through, as you anticipate something might happen. Not something to watch on a film night with family or friends, but rather a quick 90 minute film to pass the time by yourself.