Tenderness

Terderness is not a thriller, it is a drama with suspense, if you don't get it, then you don't. It is an indie, different, and not a happy one, not by far. It reminds me of the Korean film Seom (The Isle), although it is not as brutal, just as sad. People in it, very well portrayed all in all, are desperate, trying to be anything else than they have to be. It is rare to find this slowly moving film with such strong emotions beneath the surface, specially when the problems are so far off, at least an American one, they are use to be about people finding themselves. This film is about trying to lost oneself. It deserves to get noticed, although I can't imagine normal people liking it. But if you like such films as The Isle, Underground, Funny Games, it is a must.

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.

A rather sombre and one-note film about a young serial killer who manages to escape trial as an adult on grounds of diminished responsibility, and gets released into the chicken coop again when he's 18. A semi-retired cop who wants to get him back in custody and stop any more deaths trails him after release. A young lady who doesn't think much of life hooks up with the serial killer. Brings to life a phrase I recently heard from a philosopher, when we look for romantic partners we look for, "familiar suffering".

The film is about people with meaningless lives, looking for a reason to get out of bed every day other than to continuously reflect on their pain.

Potentially for people who already read the novel, the poor editing is easily overlooked as they know what was going on anyway. Russell Crowe and Laura Dern signed up to the project, perhaps as the novel has received some quite favourable attention, but they don't bring much to it.

The film lacks any dramatic oomph, partly because the cop is a really nice guy who looks at Eric as a young man with a mental illness; and there's no animus back from Eric, simply because he lacks most ordinary human feelings. Although a few people did manage to get happy about Tenderness, it seemed to me like like a roughly hewn film with no outstanding qualities.

Despite having an interesting premise, Aussie director John Polsner (Swimfan, Hide and Seek) and screenwriter Emil Stern's adaptation of Robert Cormier's novel never seems to gain traction and generally fails to rise above its choppy editing and individual sets and sequences. Eric Poole (Jon Foster) is released from juvenile detention despite being convicted of the brutal murder of his parents. Eric must find a way to reconcile his past and cope with his present while Russell Crowe plays the semi-retired detective that brought him to justice in the past and is determined to keep close tabs on his future. Sophie Traub's Lori is an awkward teenager who has been obsessed with Eric since the murders and desperately pursues interaction between them at all costs.

It's a shame that potential character studies of these three individuals never fully materializes on screen nor does it mesh with the attempts at suspense and action. The biggest flaw is that the narrative is driven from the point of view of Crowe's detective character who also happens to have smallest of the three roles. Crowe's performance seems flat and perfunctory with no real character arc other than a slow chase of Eric and Lori and a subplot of a hospital-ridden wife that goes nowhere. Foster's Eric had the most potential but he never seems to bring more than a surface level amount of emotion and delivery to his scenes. The only standout is Traub who is able to balance her character's youthful recklessness and yet still retain some soulful insights.

This film is deliberately paced and a lot of scenes that were meant to provide emotional heft either do not resonate or are not fully played out which may be why the score is often raised several decibels. Characters share deeply personal details and yet suddenly we are on to another scene. Laura Dern who plays Eric's spiritual aunt is largely wasted. Would recommend only to individuals that are avid followers of the actors involved.

Grade: D

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.