Plush (film)

Plot

After losing her bandmate and brother to a drug overdose, rising rock star Hayley finds herself in a downward spiral. The second album from her band Plush is received as a critical and commercial disaster. She finds new hope and friendship in Enzo, the replacement guitarist who inspires her to reach new creative heights. However, soon their collaboration crosses the line sexually and Hayley, who is married with two children, retreats from Enzo’s advances. As Hayley slowly discovers Enzo’s dark and troubled history, she realizes she may have let a madman into her home and that her mistake may cost the lives of people closest to her.

Cast

Production

In 2012 Hardwicke announced her intentions to film Plush based on a script she wrote with Artie Nelson. IM Global was named as the financier for the film, which would star Emily Browning as the lead character. Principal photography began on August 27, 2012 in Los Angeles.

Teaser photos and posters were released on to the official website in August 2013.

Novel

A tie-in novel based upon the film was released on July 27, 2013. The book, which is also entitled Plush, was written by Kate Crash, who also contributed several songs to Plush's soundtrack. The novel tells the story of the film and the nine years prior to the start of the film.

Soundtrack

The score and soundtrack were produced by alternative post-punk producer Nick Launay and singer-songwriter Ming Vauz (Sleepmask). The soundtrack initially conceived as a dramatic force for pushing the film's plot featured music written and performed by Gary Numan (uncredited), Julian Shah-Tayler, Storm Large, Kate Crash, Anomie Belle, and Devix Szell. Leading actors Xavier Samuel, Emily Browning, and Thomas Dekker supplied vocal performances for their respective tracks.

Reception

Critical reception for Plush has been predominantly negative and the film currently holds a rating of 29% "rotten" on Rotten Tomatoes based upon six reviews. Christy Lemire gave the film a half a star, criticizing it as "inauthentic at every turn". In contrast IndieWire gave the film a "B+", commenting that although Plush wasn't "high art", it did "commit fully and follow through with the courage of its convictions".