Tenderness is a 2009 crime film directed by John Polson and written by Emil Stern, based on the novel of the same name by Robert Cormier.

Starring Russell Crowe, Jon Foster, Sophie Traub, and Laura Dern, the film follows the intersecting lives of three people - a young man just released from jail, a girl looking for escape who becomes fascinated with him and the police detective who is sure the boy will kill again.

She receives sexual attention from men, including her boss at a retail store and her mother's boyfriend Gary.

In a desperate attempt to gain his affection, Lori tells him she saw him kiss a girl down by a river shortly before he murdered his parents.

Eric realizes she saw him with the girl he choked to death in his first, unsolved murder, and makes several half-hearted attempts to kill Lori.

As he clasps it around her neck, it is revealed that Maria was bait by Lt. Cristofuoro in a plot to find Eric in order to trap him before he repeats his past mistakes.

The scenes in the juvenile detention center were shot at the Arthur Kill Correctional Facility in Staten Island, New York City.

It is revealed on the DVD that the producers only convinced Crowe to take on the project after expanding his role and giving his character a voiceover narration.