SYNOPSICS
Tenderness (2009) is a English movie. John Polson has directed this movie. Russell Crowe,Jon Foster,Sophie Traub,Laura Dern are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2009. Tenderness (2009) is considered one of the best Crime,Drama,Thriller movie in India and around the world.
Three lives. Buffalo detective Lt. Cristofuoro, whose catatonic wife is in hospital, takes a special interest in Eric Komenko, a juvenile who killed his parents and will be freed on his 18th birthday. So does Lori Cranston, 15 or 16, her body fully developed and the object of lust by her boss and her mother's new boyfriend. She keeps a scrapbook about Eric, and when he's released from custody, she hides in the backseat of his car, insisting he take her with him on a trip toward Albany where he's planning to meet a girl. Cristofuoro is certain Eric will kill again, so he follows. It's clear early on that Cristofuoro's probably right, but what's Lori's motivation?
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Tenderness (2009) Reviews
Try a Little Tenderness
Convicted as a juvenile, handsome young Jon Foster (as Eric Komenko) gets out of jail free, despite being a psychopathic killer. Lonely and abused teenager Sophie Traub (as Lorelei "Lori" Cranston) has become infatuated with Mr. Foster, and has been keeping a scrapbook on him. She decides to join Foster on a trip to look at colleges in upstate New York, by stowing away in the back seat of his car. Foster, who is also looking to keep a sex date with another female admirer, wants to get rid of Ms. Traub. But, as they travel, Foster becomes attached to Traub. Then, he learns she witnessed a crime... Meanwhile, police lieutenant Russell Crowe (as John Cristofuoro) follows the young couple. After helping put Foster in the pokey, Mr. Crowe developed a strange bond with the young killer. Crowe thinks Foster will kill again... "Tenderness" starts out by having you think it's going somewhere else. It also toys around with eroticism. But, the film is really more like a character study. Foster is a psychopathic killer who Crowe feels is apt to kill again, with vulnerable underage Traub the likely victim. Walking off with the best-written role, Traub actually provides Foster with some measure of salvation. The film is subtly acted and directed, looks great for the price, but stops short of excellence. The character played by Crowe is not drawn well into events; he and his invalid wife are far too detached from the main characters. ****** Tenderness (1/15/09) John Polson ~ Jon Foster, Sophie Traub, Russell Crowe, Laura Dern
A much improved Polson answers his critics with 'Tenderness'
'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.
The intimacy of the kill is tenderness.
Director John Polson is now well known as frequent director on television series such as 'Elementary', 'Blue Bloods', 'The Mentalist', 'The Good Wife', ' Without a Trace' etc. TENDERNESS is an early effort (2009) but the singe is evident. This little film slipped by everyone despite a strong cast – likely because the subject matter is rather difficult to swallow, especially as related by the time flips the picture takes in explaining the story. Buffalo detective Lt. Cristofuoro (Russell Crowe), whose catatonic wife is in hospital, takes a special interest in Eric Komenko (an excellent Jon Foster!), a juvenile who killed his parents and will be freed on his 18th birthday. So has Lori Cranston (Sophie Traub), 15 or 16, her body fully developed and the object of lust by her boss and her mother's new boyfriend. She keeps a scrapbook about Eric, and when he's released from custody, she hides in the backseat of his car, insisting he take her with him on a trip toward Albany where he's planning to meet a girl. Cristofuoro is certain Eric will kill again, visits Eric's dead mother's sister Aunt Teresa (Laura Dern, excellent) with whom he lives since his release from Juvenile Hall, agrees with Cristofuoro's intuition and encourages him to pursue Eric in Albany. What happens on the trip to Albany – the disintegration of Eric's fragile sociopathic psyche and Lori's obsession with Eric's none too subtle need to kill leads to a surprising end. It is a film that deals with compulsions on every level and in every character – especially a self- destructive teen obsessed with a murderer, a young man obsessed with killing girls, and a weary detective obsessed with keeping the young man behind bars. Jon Foster is the center of attention in the story and is supported the excellent work of Russell Crowe and Laura Dern. The supporting cast is strong. Serial killers continue to make an impact on writers, but this story takes a deeper look into the psyche of the main character, if not by words then more by body language.
Wonderful Cormier adaptation
I'm a huge Robert Cormier fan and have read every novel he's ever written. So I came to this movie with mixed emotions. I think his books are filmable, as they're relatively short. But they're not easily filmable, as he gets into the heads of his characters and the thought processes are what makes them so interesting. So far there's been 4 adaptations of Cormier's, until now. Chocolate war was an awful movie, messed with the book and changed the ending. Sucked in though to the students who watched the movie and not read the book. I am the cheese, featuring Cormier himself, was quite good - certainly better than it's remake, Lapse of Memory. But it was still flat and sentimental. The Bumblebee Flies Anyway seemed to be aimed too young and was an indie film that tried to overuse its name signing - Janene Garofalo. So I was worried Tenderness, with 2 name signings - Dern and Crowe - would do the same. What it was, though, was brilliant. It doesn't mess with the book as far as I remember it (it's been a few years). It does flesh out Crowe's character, who provides a narrative framework as well, but that actually works for the film and not against it. The ending is brilliant, the tension throughout is brilliant, and the "teenage" actors (really 19 and 25, but they pass well for 16 and 18) are great. It's a bleak tale. It won't be easily sold off the preview. But if you're a Cormier fan looking for a film that captures his ethos of hope through pain, his bleak "there is no light, so learn from the tunnel" themes are all present, which is why his books stand out and why this challenging and masterly crafted film will likely fail at the box office (as it has in Australia, where I'm from) and remain a minor masterpiece. (If there are any Dern fans there - she has 2 scenes, a cameo really, though she's quite good. Crowe fans - his expanded role really makes him a third lead, while the book was really about the main two. I thought there was room in the film to flesh him out, and they did so nicely. Think about his role in the The Insider - not the lead, but his presence is felt.) But this film is very thought provoking and challenging. Even if you don't like Crowe it won't matter, and if you've never read a Cormier book, it's a great introduction to his stuff, unlike the other adaptations.
It remains an occasionally intense but mostly routine and flat thriller
A man named Eric Poole (Jon Foster), who was sent to prison after murdering his parents and raping a girl as an adolescent, is released back into the free world. Living at home and deciding to investigate the colleges of America, Eric is tracked by a lonely girl named Lori (Sophie Traub). Lori has been following Eric's release in the papers and she remembers meeting him once from a brief chance encounter. After she sneaks into the back of his car, Eric and Lori eventually come together and stay on the road, gradually remembering when they first met. Eric is also pursued by an obsessed cop, Detective Cristofuoro (Russell Crowe), a man who is grieving in having to look after his paralysed wife. Though an initially intense and interesting film, Tenderness directed by John Polson (who previously made Swimfan and Hide and Seek) remains a rather uneventful and often unconvincing crime thriller. The opening quarter of the film, while leisurely paced, is constructed to develop our interest into how these characters are interconnected with each other. Certainly there are a number of fascinating questions asked; such as why this teenage girl is unconcerned by the dangers of this lunatic and why Cristofuoro himself is to obsessed with his own pursuite, surely not just because of his instincts and his proper sense of the law. Where the film falls apart though is in its undeveloped answers to many of these. The girl's eventual fate is a grim and depressing one, and though we do see portions of her life as being undesirable - her mother has a new boyfriend moving into their house and Lori is forced to flash her breasts for a man's pleasure - there is never a completely satisfying closure to her unhappiness. Furthermore, Cristofuoro's insistence to follow Eric and try to catch him out leaves much to be desired for the character. He does not spend a great deal of time interacting with his target and merely describes it as his hobby. There must be a stronger grudge between the men, than a mere obsession; it remains a rather flat and uninteresting part. As with the script, the performances of the film are relatively uneven as well. Russell Crowe is always a strong actor but he is at his best in portraying masculine figures of internal conflict. Here he is given a fairly routine and slightly disappointing role. His reliance on an American accent is at times jarring and unnecessary and like in Ridley Scott's film Body of Lies, he does not seem to have a great deal to do in the film. For such a powerful actor, his part is quite underwritten and does not benefit from a substantial level of character development. Sophie Traub as Lori is reasonable in her role, sometimes exuding emotion but occasionally irritable in trying to be funny and energetic. It is most disappointing that we never really reach a deeper understanding of her unhappiness and discomfort in life. It would have contributed a much stronger emotional pull to the film. As Eric, Jon Foster is sometimes intense but mostly blank, never entirely capturing the chilling sense of menace and dread that he could have. There are moments that we suspect Eric may succumb to his desires to kill but this level of tension needed to be more persistent to illuminate the threat that he is. There are certainly some assets to the film; the flashbacks to Eric's brutal crimes are used to show his current struggle of emotions. Yet as with Lori, we never gain a significant insight into his true psychosis. Tenderness would have benefited from a stronger script that would allow more opportunities to delve into the anxiety of both a teenager and the internal confliction of a teenager. As it stands, it never reaches the heights of a film like The Woodsman and it remains an occasionally intense but mostly routine and flat thriller that owed a lot more to the abilities of its star, Russell Crowe.