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Tenderness (2007)

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Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 3
Fresh: 0 | Rotten: 3

audience

21

liked it
Average Rating: 2.5/5
User Ratings: 1,541

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Movie Info

Adapted from the novel by Robert Cormier, this psychological crime drama tells the tense story of an obsessed police lieutenant who's on the hunt for a dangerous young killer. The first thing most people notice about handsome high school student Eric Komenko (Jon Foster) is his easy charm. But that charm doesn't run deep, because a closer look reveals a cold-blooded killer. When Eric's devoutly religious mother discovers that her son has been sleeping around, the teen responds to her maternal

R, 1 hr. 41 min.

Art House & International, Drama

Emil Stern

Apr 13, 2010

Lionsgate

Cast

All Critics (14) | Top Critics (3) | Fresh (5) | Rotten (9)

Crowe's lumbering presence is a relief from all the gothic heaviness, but director John Polson's elliptical storytelling style quickly becomes an irritant.

December 11, 2009 Full Review Source: New York Daily News | Comment
New York Daily News
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A movie undone by its formulaic plot conventions, and its need to give its star more screen time than his characters merits.

December 11, 2009 Full Review Source: New York Times | Comment
New York Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Crowe, who spends the movie trudging along ... and waxing lyrical about pain and pleasure, must be hoping no one sees this mawkish blunder. He will probably get his wish.

December 11, 2009 Full Review Source: New York Post | Comment
New York Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

An arty psychological thriller that never catches fire as either a serial killer flick or character study.

June 22, 2011 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | Comment
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Russell Crowe stumbles through lifeless thriller.

December 31, 2010 Full Review Source: sbs.com.au | Comment
sbs.com.au

The picture is crowded with captivating tones and contemplation, navigating a tricky tale of murder, perversion, and obsession with a fine edge of suspense and an interesting take on the human condition.

April 25, 2010 Full Review Source: DVDTalk.com | Comment
DVDTalk.com

Polson maintains an unsettling tension throughout the narrative, building his slow-burn thriller to a climax that deliberately runs counter to the in-your-face genre principles of which he proved such a master with his first two thriller outings.

May 1, 2009 Full Review Source: The Age (Australia) | Comment
The Age (Australia)

Since moving to Hollywood, Australian director John Polson has become a very competent filmmaker. I hope he finds better scripts for his future projects.

May 1, 2009 Full Review Source: MovieTime, ABC Radio National | Comment
MovieTime, ABC Radio National

It's hard to understand what keeps these characters moving, and without true indie grit or the runaway tension that would otherwise satisfy the multiplex, Tenderness drops somewhere in-between...and that is mostly a disappointing nowhere.

May 1, 2009 Full Review Source: FILMINK (Australia) | Comment
FILMINK (Australia)

Cormier himself called Tenderness a tough book written in "a minor key" and perhaps Polson was inspired by the description. But if so, he doesn't come close.

May 1, 2009 Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | Comment
Sydney Morning Herald

It does have a few plot contrivances, but the tension is skilfully built and the cast is uniformly excellent.

May 1, 2009 Full Review Source: At the Movies (Australia) | Comment (1)
At the Movies (Australia)

This is a fascinating study, but the adaptation struggles to get the story across with as much punch as it might. On the other hand, John Polson shows a lucid eye for the genre

April 24, 2009 Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | Comment
Urban Cinefile

The mood that Polson creates is a little like walking into a thick mist and finding yourself lost in the fog. Perhaps we get a little too lost within, but much of the film is engrossing, as are the performances

April 24, 2009 Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | Comment
Urban Cinefile
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Tenderness

This is a really good film. About a police detective who is possessed in making sure a young man who killed his parents spends the rest of his life in prison. At the same time when he is released from prison after turning 18, a young teenage girl falls in love with him. Trying to go straight is impossible because of

February 4, 2011
bbcfloridabound
Bruce Bruce

Super Reviewer

This 'Tenderness' turned out to be pretty hard on me. I can't understand why Russell Crowe chose to work in it. While his performance was (as well as that of other actors/actresses were) great as usual, the script was a bit too let-downer. I wasn't expecting anything incredible after seeing its rating as 5.6 on IMDb,

December 23, 2010
imrealgod

Super Reviewer

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