Russell Crowe stars as Detective Cristofuoro, a semi-retired police officer who is trying to unravel the past to discover whether a violent teenager, Eric Poole (Jon Foster), was responsible for the murder of his family. Sophie Traub co-stars as Lori, the teenage runaway who falls under Eric's spell. Based on the novel by Robert Cormier.
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.
– Kyle Smith,
New York Post,
11 Dec 2009
rotten:
A movie undone by its formulaic plot conventions, and its need to give its star more screen time than his characters merits.
– Stephen Holden,
New York Times,
11 Dec 2009
rotten:
Crowe's lumbering presence is a relief from all the gothic heaviness, but director John Polson's elliptical storytelling style quickly becomes an irritant.