Review of Dare (2009) by Candace K — 10 Feb 2010
One of the singular sexiest films I have seen in awhile, and there's no nudity and only one real sex scene. Based upon director Adam Salky's short film of the same name, this Emmy Rossum starring teen drama is an impressive portrait of of going too far, a little beyond, and not quite knowing what the outcome will be.
Emmy does her best acting to date, and the supporting cast doesn't let her down. When confronted with possibly not being the best actress in her high school, she bitches to the head of the drama dept. who tells her that she hasn't lost anything yet, and thus, has nothing to draw upon. This leads her to bed the badboy/ co-star Zach Gilford's Johnny.
The scene leading up to it is very tense and sets the tone for the rest movie. With it's mostly blue light setting an atmosphere of sex and danger. The lighting will continue with this motif, with the climax ending in stark red.
Salky's directing is very good, ramping up the energy and keeping the tension quite palpable. He doesn't do anything particularly flashy, but uses some nice long takes, that allows everything to build up around the characters. There's an amazing pool scene that unfolds so naturally, it's almost voyeuristic.
Ashley Springer as Ben, Emmy's Alexa's best friend, who is also going after Zach's Johnny, is a find. I do not know if I have seen him in anything else, but he's excellent here. Displaying a vulnerability and rawness, that's very impressive. Gilford finally gets to shed his nice guy image built up from his role on "Friday Night Lights" and the movie Postgrad, and is better here than I have seen him in either of those. He ably exudes an air of devil-may-care but with a wounded soul underneath.
This is Emmy's show though, as she has the trickiest role, and pulls it off brilliantly. I have always been a fan of hers, and here, she stretches herself beyond her usual comfort zone, and finds a raw sexual power I didn't know she possessed. It's quite a show.
The script is good, with the dialogue being not quite realistic, but more of an amped up warped reality.
This review of Dare (2009) was written by Candace K on 10 Feb 2010.
Dare has generally received mixed reviews.
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