''Tart'' is a 2001 American
coming of age drama film written and directed by Christina Wayne and starring
Dominique Swain
Dominique Swain (born August 12, 1980) is an American actress and producer. She came to prominence playing the title character in Adrian Lyne's 1997 film adaptation of ''Lolita'', alongside her supporting role as Jamie Archer in John Woo's ''Fac ...
,
Brad Renfro
Brad Barron Renfro (July 25, 1982 – January 15, 2008) was an American actor. He made his film debut at the age of 11 with a starring role in '' The Client'' (1994). He went on to appear in 21 feature films and won several awards.
Prior to bei ...
, and
Bijou Phillips
Bijou Lilly Phillips Masterson (born April 1, 1980) is an American actress, model and singer. The daughter of musician John Phillips and Geneviève Waïte, she began her career as a model. Phillips made her singing debut with '' I'd Rather Ea ...
. It follows a young woman at a
preparatory school in 1980s New York City and her ingratiation with a group of elite peers. It was released by
Lionsgate
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...
in 2001.
Plot
Cat Storm is a teenager attending an elite
preparatory school in 1980s
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
. Cat begins to fall in with the popular crowd at her prep school, abandoning her rebellious longtime friend, Delilah, who is expelled from the school. Cat surrounds herself with some of the school's most popular students, befriending Grace, an English exchange student, and attending holiday parties held by Peg which are often frequented by Kenny, an
ephebophile
Ephebophilia is the primary sexual interest in mid-to-late adolescents, generally ages 15 to 19. The term was originally used in the late 19th to mid-20th century. It is one of a number of sexual preferences across age groups subsumed under the t ...
who supplies
cocaine
Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...
to the teenagers and tries to have sex with the young men.
Amidst struggles at home between her divorced parents, Cat becomes attracted to William Sellers, a
delinquent
Delinquent or delinquents may refer to:
* A person who commits a felony
* A juvenile delinquent, often shortened as delinquent is a young person (under 18) who fails to do that which is required by law; see juvenile delinquency
* A person who fa ...
who comes from an abusive household, and who also is significantly less wealthy than his peers. William and Cat pursue a brief relationship, which he ends, leaving Cat distraught. After some of Cat's
anti-semitic friends find out her father is
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
, she is ostracized, and only accepted by the prim Eloise, who befriends her.
Hearing about a party hosted by Delilah on the beach in
The Hamptons
The Hamptons, part of the East End of Long Island, consist of the towns of Southampton and East Hampton, which together comprise the South Fork of Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York. The Hamptons are a popular seaside resort and one o ...
, Cat goes to stay the night with Eloise at her house, using it as an opportunity to attend the party. There, she confronts Delilah, and the two argue about Cat abandoning her, but make up. Delilah walks to a nearby
gay bar
A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) clientele; the term '' gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT communities.
Gay bars once serv ...
operated by Kenny, where she tries to find a ride back to the city for her and Cat. While there, she stumbles upon William receiving
oral sex
Oral sex, sometimes referred to as oral intercourse, is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a person by another person using the mouth (including the lips, tongue, or teeth) and the throat. Cunnilingus is oral sex p ...
from a male drug dealer. William chases after Delilah and confronts her in the woods on her way back to the beach, and the two get into an argument. He pushes her, causing her to hit her head on a rock. Delilah screams at him and threatens to press charges, and, in a panic, he beats her to death.
The following morning, after searching for Delilah, Cat discovers that Delilah's body has been found and William arrested. After school that afternoon, the paparazzi and reporters interview the students with questions about Delilah, and they all deem her "reckless" and have little to say of her. The film ends with Cat and her mother resolving their own familial conflict and her mother apologizing to her in
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...
.
Cast
Production
Though set in New York, the film was shot in
New York City, New York
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
in 1999.
Anna Paquin
Anna Hélène Paquin ( ; born 24 July 1982) is a New Zealand actress. Born in Winnipeg and raised in Wellington, Paquin made her acting debut portraying Flora McGrath in the romantic drama film '' The Piano'' (1993), for which she won the ...
was originally cast as Cat Storm. She dropped out of the lead role in favor of ''
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in 1970 due to lo ...
''.
Reception
The reviewer for ''
AllMovie'' wrote that "''Tart'' is a straightforward depiction of self-possessed, spoiled teens, is the best argument yet for getting an after-school job in the late high school years". The reviewer for ''
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
'' wrote that "''Tart'' is another in a long line of unoriginal attempts to explore one girl’s desire to fit in."
The reviewer for ''Cinema.com'' wrote that "The end really isn't an ending. It makes the audience wonder, that's it. There is no real plot, focus, direction or point. It is really not worth seeing." In contrast, the reviewer for the website ''Through the Shattered Lens'' actually liked the film, even though she called it a "massively flawed film".
Robert Pardi of ''
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news.
The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008.
Corpora ...
'' gave the film a middling review, writing: "In this blast at the privileged classes, yet another young social climber discovers the bitter accuracy of
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...
's observation about the very rich: "They are different from you and me"... But this expose doesn't elicit much sympathy for characters whose big dreams amount to little more than lust for a better grade of cashmere."
Contactmusic.com
Contactmusic.com is an online magazine of cultural criticism based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, and ...
gave the film a negative review, writing: "Not only does the provocative title of ''Tart'' mislead us, but the packaging features a lithe Dominique Swain on its covers, her schoolgirl skirt blowing up to expose her panties... The structure of the film is nonexistent (and in other words, there's little plot to hold together a series of oddball scenes), and the acting is perfunctory -- Mischa Barton's horrendous British accent a grating exercise in poor voice coaching and a director too in love with her own material to even notice."
A review published in ''
The Massachusetts Daily Collegian
''The Massachusetts Daily Collegian'' is an American daily newspaper founded in 1890, and the independently funded, student-operated newspaper of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The ''Collegian'' is a non-profit funded entirely through ...
'' was critical of the film, noting: "Writer-director Christina Wayne has so little clue about how to make a film that none of the relationships between seems remotely understandable. Characters float in and out with little connection to each; every scene the viewer needs to reestablish who everyone is in relation to one another."
Accolades
Home media
The film was released in DVD on April 23, 2002. It is also included on streaming service,
Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pr ...
.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tart (Film)
2000s coming-of-age drama films
2000s high school films
2001 romantic drama films
2000s teen drama films
2001 directorial debut films
2001 films
2001 independent films
2001 LGBT-related films
American coming-of-age drama films
American high school films
American independent films
American romantic drama films
American teen drama films
American teen LGBT-related films
Films about the upper class
Films set in New York City
Films shot in New York City
Films shot in Toronto
2000s English-language films
2000s American films