Tenderness
After having killed his parents and a young girl, Eric Pool was sent to a juvenile detention center. At age 18 he gets released after having served his sentence, but Detective Cristofuoro who originally caught him believes he’s a serial killer who will need to kill again. When Pool goes on a trip up-state, Cristofuoro decides to follow him to make sure that if he plans to strike again, he’s there to capture him. However, things turn out quite differently when Pool finds out that a young girl who’s obsessed with him hid in the back of his car and decides to join him on his trip…
Sound and Vision:
The image of Tenderness perfectly fits the movie. The color palette is a bit toned down to get a rather oldfashioned-looking movie that perfectly supports the slow pace of the film. The amount of detail is decent and also the contrast is as it should be. We didn’t spot any major compression errors.
The movie doesn’t contain any major action scenes and is focused on dialogue and supporting music. Also here the Blu-ray does what it’s supposed to do. Dialogues are crystal clear and the surround speakers are used for music and environment sounds. Especially towards the end with the scene at the amusement park you’ll notice the amount of detail and good use of the surrounds.
Extras:
None
Conclusion:
Tenderness is a psychological thriller that has an extremely slow pace but does manage to keep tension high. You’re constantly wondering when (and if) the released convict will strike again and how the relationship between the two kids will evolve. Russell Crowe does an excellent job as the soon-to-be-retired cop who wants to make sure he keeps a potential serial killer from striking again, but praise should mostly go to the lesser known actors Jon Foster and Sophie Traub who do put down a great performance.
The movie goes so slow that many people who have gotten used to watching big blockbuster films might be turned off, but if you can appreciate movies that rely on tension and character interaction instead of action then this one is certainly worth checking out. If there’s one movie that fits its title, then it’s Tenderness
7.0