Cherry Crush (2007)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Nicholas DiBella

Writers (WGA):

Nicholas DiBella (written by) &
Paul Root (written by)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Who's shooting who?

Plot:

A seventeen-year-old photographer gets caught up in murder when he breaks his own rules and falls in love with one of his teenage models.

Plot Keywords:

Photographer | Murder | Model | Country Club | Female Nudity

Cast

Nikki Reed	...	Shay Bettencourt
Jonathan Tucker	...	Jordan Wells
Julie Gonzalo	...	Desiree Thomas
Michael O'Keefe	...	Detective Griffin
Haviland Morris	...	Julia Wells
Dennis Boutsikaris	...	Ben Wells
Frank Whaley	...	Wade Chandling
Alessa Neeck	...	Abbey
Christopher Jon Martin	...	Jake Miles (as Christopher Martin)
Patricia Lewis Browne	...	Older Woman
Billy Powell	...	Chemistry Teacher
Thomas Tripiciano	...	Dean Robert Mullen
Nick Lang	...	Wide Receiver
Ferdinand Jay Smith	...	DA Thomas (as Ferdinand J. Smith)
Sarah Anderson	...	Waitress

Also Known As:

Dulce perversión (Argentina) (DVD title) [es]
Fonikos erotas (Greece) (DVD title) [el]

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some sexuality and nudity.

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:R | Australia:M | Germany:12 | Argentina:16 | Singapore:NC-16

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Post Central

Soundtrack:

Marigolds

A rich staging overshadows narration and plot weaknesses

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.