Dare

In "Dare," Alexa (played by the winning Emmy Rossum) is an inexperienced, socially inept teenaged actress who decides to become a "bad girl" so she'll be more in touch with the characters she's playing (her current role is that of the world-weary Blanche Dubois in a high school production of "A Streetcar Named Desire"). Not only does this open up a whole new realm of experiences for the young lady herself, but it leads to a chain reaction for the two most important people in her life: her geeky best friend, Ben (Ashley Springer), who becomes seemingly jealous when Alexi takes up with the school's brooding, arrogant jock, Johnny (Zach Gilford); and Johnny himself who reveals some surprising truths about himself before the story's over. "Dare" is all about the roles we take on at various points in our lives, and how different we can appear to the world once the masks we are wearing are stripped off - thereby making the theatrical context the story uses a metaphor for real life.

Writer David Brind has divided his story into three parts, each focused on a different main character (Alexi comes first, followed by Ben, then Johnny). Since this has been largely conceived and constructed as a parable, the narrative lacks credibility on occasion and the storytelling does become a bit heavy-handed at times, but some genuinely unexpected plot twists, a blunt and honest approach towards sex and sexuality, an intriguing look at the boundaries of friendship, and an overall complexity of character make the film difficult to dismiss out of hand. In fact, its strangeness is probably its most compelling feature. Brind and director Adam Salky are obviously going for something offbeat and unusual here, and it is all to the movie's advantage ("Dare" is actually a fleshed-out version of a short film Salky made a few years earlier).

Fans of "Friday Night Lights" will be intrigued at seeing Gilford in a role that appears at first blush to be diametrically opposed to the sweet and likable Matt Saracen he plays on the series, though, as the story progresses and more layers are peeled off the character, we discover that Matt and Johnny actually have quite a bit in common with one another - mainly their feeling that they are largely unloved and alone in the world (Matt just deals with it better).

In addition to the three striking leads, Alan Cumming and Sandra Bernhard lend their support to the project in small but significant roles.

Despite its imperfections, this tale of youthful self-discovery emerges as a thoughtful and insightful look at the often painful, confusing, fumbling - yet wholly necessary - efforts teenagers must go through to find their place in the world.

A pop-art animation shows a pair of hands, wrapped around an iPhone. On the screen, the thumbs tap out the opening credits. Occasionally, the hands reject incoming calls from Mom. They also accidentally type out things like "props!" and "OMG". It is a rather embarrassing attempt to seem down with the kids (or is that kidz?) but thankfully, it is also misleading. The film itself has an entirely different tone. 'Dare' is not another typical teen-rom-rom about puberty and trying to get laid.

Alexa (Emmy Rossum) is an innocent, hard-working drama student. After failing to impress a big theatre star (Alan Cumming), she is advised to experience new things in order to improve her acting. She decides to seduce her drama partner, Johnny (Zach Gilford), who acts tough to hide his sensitivity. Ben (Ashley Springer), Alexa's gay best friend, is jealous of their relationship and decides to have a go at Johnny too. Their relationships soon become an uncomfortable and confusing love-triangle.

The film is divided into three parts, each one following a different main character. The more focused characterisation allows for a more effective display of all the awkwardness and insecurity associated with adolescence. Each of the main characters is given their own screen-time to grow and develop, and as a result there is much more substance.

'Dare' is at its strongest when the audience gets to see the characters go about their own lives, without the hassle of narrative development. On their own, the three individual segments of the film could have easily been short, John Hughes-esque films about different teenagers and their approaches to the issues of growing up.

The character of Alexa goes from innocent, uptight bookworm to sexy party girl too quickly, but Rossum plays both 'versions' just fine. Springer does a good job portraying Ben's struggle to deal with his homosexuality, and it is touching to see him find confidence in himself. Gilford gives the most convincing and layered performance of all as Johnny. He channels Marlon Brando and James Dean in his sensitive tough-guy act and it is effective, especially when it becomes apparent that he has severe rejection issues.

The problem with this kind of narrative structure is that there's too much characterisation for the love-triangle storyline. There is too much attention on each individual personality and not enough on mixing those personalities together. The characters end up changing too quickly, and it is clear that this is merely for the sake of pushing the love story along.

The film's attempt to be a coming-of-age drama and a love story at the same time backfires. It is too much of a character piece for the love-triangle story not to seem forced. By the time the abrupt ending comes around, one can't help but feel cheated, or disappointed by the wasted potential.

As a character study 'Dare' certainly excels, but as a narrative it is never compelling enough to be remembered. This film is likely to resonate with anybody who has ever been a teenager, but just because it resonates does not guarantee that it will be memorable. For his first feature-length effort, Adam Salky has done a decent job. It will be interesting to see what he comes up with in the future.

Dare was a genuinely surprising film. Having seen the short years ago at a gay film fest I thought that I knew what the story would be about and I was fully prepared to be disappointed that the feature wasn't as good as the short. Boy was I wrong! The film took me places I didn't expect and left me with images and ideas that I'll remember for a long time. There were likable, realistic characters that I genuinely cared about and a well written feature-length storyline that neatly incorporated the short that preceded it.

There were spots where the film showed its indie-film roots but, for the most part, the scenes were studio grade. The dialog was mostly well written, the actors knew their craft, and the director succeeded in bringing all of the filmic elements together better than most works of this kind. The overall tenor of the film was moderately light-hearted considering the subject matter and does a nice job of balancing the problems of high-school life with its promise.

Zach Gilford did a great job and turned a character that I thought of as a bit of a cad in the short into a sympathetic waif.

This is NOT a major studio release and if you go into it looking for that you'll be disappointed but if you'd like to see a nice small movie that treats issues of being gay in high-school as just one issue that today's youth deal with, then this may be the film for you.

Besides being a coming of age film, to me this is the story of a mentally delicate individual in dire need of love and support and thinks he has found it in two people, who happen to be best friends of the opposite sex. The relationship between the three becomes more and more intimate and it has a negative effect on one of them who thinks of it in a much different and long term manner than the other two. It's not terribly well written and the best friends characters are the least well thought out. The highlight of the film is the performance of Zach Gilford. The other two can't overcome the writing flaws. For Gilford fans mostly. Has a little appeal, but weak stuff.

'Dare' is pretty much what you'd expect from a low-budget indie film: Lazy direction and pretentious storytelling. The standards for indie films are pretty low and this movie is one of those movies that does nothing to change that.

Every character pits him or herself into the perfect mold of dramatic archetypes (minor roles included). The female lead, Alexa, played by a modest Emmy Rossum, is your typical high school overachiever who breaks out of her shell after a moment of foreseeable clarity. Playing a character that's easy to hate, Emmy works well with the distasteful card she was dealt. Ashley Springer's character Ben, however, doesn't get the benefit of the doubt. The unyielding character is completely unlikable throughout the whole movie and he falls victim to being portrayed by an inconsistent actor. Johnny Drake, the biggest cliché of film history, is the only likable character. Zach Gilford shows range in his acting abilities by breaking away from his awkward roles to play the "bad boy" with a heart of gold.

Everything about this movie reeks of presumptuous "raw" perspectives of teen life and sexuality. Unfortunately, the unapologetic principle that drives the plot forward isn't enough to save it from the dull progression, simple dialogue and contradictory character development. The writer, David Brind, gives me the impression that he wrote this script overnight with help from a 13 year old companion of his.

The film is directed by Adam Salky, who's lack of any relevant experience is evident. The atmosphere of the film is nonexistent. The characters had might as well been in subspace. Salky does absolutely nothing to build an environment for the viewers. Mid-shots are as close as we get to a setting. The worst part is that the movie tries to feed off that false feeling of genuine temperance with its weary direction. It didn't work.

I do, however, applaud Brind for having the courage to portray sexuality in ways that mainstream writers are scared to (even in today's more open-minded society). Unfortunately, all applauds come to an abrupt pause as the credits roll. The ending is yet another "profound" attempt at open-endings. Don't get me wrong. I don't always need everything wrapped together with a pretty little bow but there's only so many gaps that a viewer should fill on his own, don't ya think?