34/364 Dare

Starring: Zach Gilford, Emmy Rossum, Ashley Springer

Genre: Drama

Discovery: Waited for this to hit DVD.  Had a limited release.

Summary: Alexa, ever the “good girl”, breaks out of her shell by pursuing bad boy, Johnny.  As they get further involved her friend, Ben, starts playing his own games.  A weird triangle forms and ends in a life changing way.

First Glance: Not your standard teen drama. This didn’t walk the line I thought it would.  Going into this movie I made up my mind where it was going to take me.  I was wrong.  Well, partially.  I guessed part of it right & yet I was really far off on where it would end.  It broke convention in stereotypes.  Dig that.

Deeper Look: I think back to high school and how hard it was to find my place in that crazy world.  These characters struggle with the same thing but with MUCH more disastrous results.  It is a heightened movie reality yet a few delicately placed scenes that come from a more authentic place.  Exploring the “roles” we play.   Things are not always what we see on the outside.

What I Took Away from this Movie: Don’t play games.  Your actions matter.

Final Glimpse: Zach gives a truly inspired performance in the role of complicated Johnny, he’s not your typical brooding bad boy.