Hard Candy

I christen my latest, and hopefully longest running review site with a review of the 2005, psychological thriller; Hard Candy.

Hard Candy is a film that centers around two main characters, with one or two side characters making appearances only when entirely necessary. The film opens on an unsettlingly realistic online chat between what is quickly obvious to be a young girl and an older man. They agree to meet-up and the audience is lulled into a false sense of security that the impending plot is a rather obvious one. Young girl. Cyber predator. The film genre is labelled as a thriller. We can be pretty sure of what's going to come next. 

The protagonist and the antagonist, Hayley and Jeff, are quickly introduced in a coffee house. The young girl in her early teens and the older man in his mid to late thirties. Flirty exchanges are made and Jeff whisks Hayley back to his house after a little prompting from her. Once at the house, Jeff is shown to be a photographer; the walls of his house adorned in pictures of half naked young woman, with his very own studio nestled away at the back of his impressive looking home.

Hayley makes screwdriver cocktails and the two talk, flirt and drink for a while. She then perks up with a request for her very own photoshoot and Jeff hesitantly agrees. During the shoot, Hayley begins acting up. Jeff yells at her and he claims to feel unwell, then after a few moments, passes out. When Jeff wakes up, he discovers himself to be tied to a chair, and a new sinister Hayley reveals that she drugged him.

Spoilers from hereon in

Hard Candy has, what could be executed as, a 'done before' idea. The 'predator becoming the prey' is a done to death idea. But the way the film executes the storyline is like nothing you've ever seen before.  The film also never allows you a grasp on who to cheer for. The roles of the protagonist and antagonist just dissolve away, and you find your sympathies bouncing back and forth. It's emotionally confusing and pretty draining at times. I actually felt a little out of breath watching some parts of the film.

It's also incredibly grim, especially if you're a male. There is a 'castration' scene, which caused my boyfriend to chew on his hand. It's not incredibly graphic, but the stand out acting makes you believe it. You could very well just be watching someone get castrated for real.

In regards to acting, we have two incredible actors who give the performances of their lifetime.

Patrick Wilson is very good in such a heavy, difficult role to play. I'm sure, given the chance, most actors would hesitate to act the role of a pedophile. He does do an incredible job in the role though, allowing for a slow release of depth to the character throughout the picture. During the castration, scene and then the climax of the film, he does brilliantly portraying believable despair and panic. Even with the knowledge of the character's background, the level of suffering you have to endure watching leads you to sympathize with him, even if you don't want to. I definitely think it's his best film to date.

A superb, young Ellen Page, who you may have seen in Juno or Inception, plays the lead role. This was the first role I ever saw her in and I'm glad I found her in this before anything else, because she was a nameless face to me and I could enjoy her stand out performance without associating her with other roles. If you've seen either of those two films, but not Hard Candy, I recommend doing so. You're in for a shock.

Another actress in the role of Hayley could have done a shoddy job. There are possibly only one or two lines in the whole film that are badly written, and could have been delivered in a cliche or cringe worthy way, such as:

'Jeff, playtime is over.'

How many American B-Movie's have used that line? But somehow it feels fresh and real from Ellen. She plays the role immeasurably sinister, menacing and with a thousand different levels. 

Her portrayal is unflinchingly realistic, and I have no doubt that's what makes her character so frightening. You genuinely believe this girl is unhinged and remorseless. It's absolutely chilling. Even if you don't enjoy this film, you will be astounded by her performance. Her level of talent is mindblowing.

There are only two other named characters in the film, and the one extra in the coffee shop. The role of Janelle is the briefest, and isn't on screen long enough to make an impact. The other named character, Judy, Jeff's neighbor, is also very brief but more interactive and a little longer. It's also very memorable. I found that strange just how much that scene stayed with me, even being that it was only a minute or two long. Sandra Oh is very good and brings with her a gentleness and a stark contrast to the other two characters, which belies the threat that the presence of her character bring to Hayley's whole operation. The scene is written beautifully and is probably one of my favourites.

The cinematography is unforgettable, and also very unusual. There are lots of choppy cuts and the camera often focuses on the very center of the actor's faces, and it captures every flicker of emotion, every bead of sweat and the quality of the acting really shines through. You get the full experience. The way the sound is recorded is also very interesting. When the camera is focused on one actor, the out-of-shot actor's voice is a little muffled. Sometimes just audible. You're not getting surround sound. You get a very 3D sense of depth, and when you're focused on an actor, you are focused on that actor.

The colour scheme works beautifully, lots of cool blues, and blood reds. It's all very grim and telling, there's nothing unique about it, but it's very visually pleasing. The incidental music is few and far, when it is present, it's apt and eerie. Sometimes even pretty. When it's not present, it creates a wonderful sense of drama and realism, which is what I think the creators of the film were going for. I'd like to add, this was also the first film David Slade directed and he did a cracking job. Though his films have fallen down a slippery slope since.

I don't have much criticism for this film, so I shall probably follow this review with a film I was less fond of. There was one thing that I didn't like. Although the chat at the beginning is portrayed realistically with respect to the content, the speed at which Jeff replies is that of a chatbot. I think they could have slowed the replies down, even by a millisecond. 

I highly rate and recommend this film, I think it's very unrated and not as well known as it should be. It's engrossing, believable and well, thrilling! It has a user rating (the ratings that actually count) of 76% percent on Rotten Tomatoes and I definitely think it should be higher.

Script: 8/10

Cinematography: 9.5/10

Acting: 10/10
Story: 9.5
Direction: 10/10

Overall: 9/10

I'd like to note, this film also has a great repeat watch factor. The trailer is below. 

Happy watching!