Academy Award-winning actor Russell Crowe has signed on to star in the film adaptation of Robert Cormier's novel Tenderness.

The film is about two teenagers, one with a violent past and the other, a young runaway who cannot resist his charms, Daily Variety said Tuesday.

Crowe will portray a police lieutenant who tries to unravel the teens' complex pasts.

John Polson, who worked with Crowe when they acted in the 1990 World War II film Prisoners of the Sun, is directing Tenderness.