Cherry Crush (2007)

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.

Director:

Nicholas DiBella

Writers:

Nicholas DiBella, Paul Root

Stars:

Nikki Reed, Jonathan Tucker, Julie Gonzalo

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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
Brooke Mayer	...	Trish
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)

Storyline

Jordan Wells, a talented, seventeen-year-old photographer struggles between falling in line with his father's plans for his future and following his desire to pursue photography. After he gets thrown out of his upscale prep school for taking provocative pictures of some of the girls in his class, he transfers into a public school and becomes involved with Shay, a beautiful girl from the other side of the tracks. As the passion of their relationship heats up, Jordan soon finds himself an accessory to murder --twice.

---

Plot Keywords:

murder | photographer | model | femme fatale | high school | 

---

Taglines:

If love is blind, can a crush be deadly?

---

Genres:

Drama | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, some sexuality and nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 February 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dulce perversión

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Post Central

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"Dance With Me"
Written and Performed by Michael McDermott
Courtesy of Pauper Sky Records

User Reviews

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.