Provincetown International Film Festival 2009

New England Premiere

Writer David Brind and actor Ashley Springer will be in attendance.

DARE follows three very-different teenagers through the last semester of high school. There are Alexa (Emmy Rossum), the overachieving good girl; Ben (Ashley Springer), the melancholy outsider; and Johnny (Zach Gilford), the rich kid who has everything. This unlikely trio fall into each other's lives and each other's arms, making a last-ditch effort to shake things up before they actually have to start living as adults. Director Adam Salky and writer David Brind take us into some uncharted territory with fresh eyes and matter-of-fact authority. Sweet and sexy don't always go together, but they work beautifully in this instance because the sexuality of the film is cleverly woven into the fabric of the story. You can ask why the kids are in such a hurry to experience adult feelings, especially when their parents, comically enough, are afraid to get in the way. All is answered in the nuanced performances of this exceptional cast. They capture perfectly a generation with nothing to rebel against except their self-imposed inhibitions. Director Salky stacks up countless priceless moments in crafting teen romance with a decidedly modern spin. In DARE, the kids do what they need to do to become the adults they should. With Alan Cumming and Sandra Bernhard. - John Cooper, Sundance Film Festival

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