Hard Candy

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Hard Candy is a film about whether you can torture someone into admitting crimes they didn't commit. Unfortunately, in this film, the torturer turns out to be the hero... A hero I was never behind for a minute. Over the top acting on a predictable script, so many impossibilities and plot holes that it is hard to suspend disbelief for very long, and a leading lady that looks like a boy all add up to a miss. The only surprise in the film for me was that she didn't reveal herself to be a boy after all this. The lighting was not bad at all, though. That's the one point that I gave this horrible piece of work. Never have the words "an hour and a half of my life that I'll never get back" been more deserved. However, if you are a teenage girl with notions of vigilante vengeance, this movie might give you some confidence, since she superhumanly pulls it off with barely a scratch. You wonder why this child genius is not working for the police already, since she is able to solve a crime weeks before the homicide unit can. Since the girl is 14, there is no nudity, no sex, relatively little violence, not even much swearing. I don't know why this thing is rated R, except to fool people into thinking it might be some kind of suspense thriller. It is clearly a PG13, and is safe for teens to watch... If Haley really wanted to torture Jeff, she should have just shown him this film. He would have admitted anything at that point.

if you are in the mood for some serious sadomasochism, and please take note of the word 'serious', this might be a movie for you. otherwise, i would advise to save the 2 hours of your life. trust me, even watching commercials of soap is more useful/interesting/exciting. somehow, the creators of this wonderful piece forgot to mention the word 'pedophelia' in its description. I am not sure how this is possible given that this is the point of the movie - well, it does not really have a point, but this is what this 'film' allegedly tries to explore (without, I might add coming to any conclusion or a hint of thereof). when you watch the preview for this chef d'oeuvre, it sets up an intrigue of older man meeting a younger girl of in the net. interesting. here is a preview of this the trailer omits: a crazed teenager trying to cut the testicles of an alleged offender for about half an hour. A Saturday night killer (and by that I mean your Saturday night). Actually, this movie can kill the mood of any evening. so just to sum up, if you are in the mood for some sadomasochism, you have found what you are looking for. otherwise, as I said, even soap commercials are better. at least they don't leave you nauseous.

The pedophiles are the current public scarecrows. I know real people who'd never let their kids out of their sight because they might instantly become pedophile victims. So you put a "pedophile" label on a character and now you can do anything to him. And many viewers will blindly approve. My point of view is that the movie is not about "the mind of a pedophile" or "revenge for all little girls". It's about a mentally ill person who wishes to gain an absolute power over another person and how much she enjoys the process. And the process is shown in much detail. And there is not much besides it. I don't see any other way but come to a conclusion that this process is what the movie was actually shot for. Everything else was just a cover. A comfortable excuse for those who likes to watch that kind of stuff as it was an excuse for the main female character who liked to perform it. The tag-line of this movie should be: "It's okay to burn witches and enjoy it because they are witches! Now let's watch how they writhe in the fire."

I could not believe what I saw, I did not read anything about this movie before I saw it, I only quickly read that Sandra Oh plays in it. I mean why the hell does she want to play in movie like this, a cool actress like her? I expected a sensitive drama about child abuse, something intelligent. No one and nothing can prepare you for this movie. This is not Hostel, Wolf Creek or Touristas. This horror/sick reality film is made so good, that it's simply painful to watch. It's either a ten or a one. I decided that it would be a one. Are the filmmakers proud to have made such a movie? Do they think they do us a favor so that we can talk about it and discuss what happened here? If the girl had rights to do what she did? Seriously what do we get from this movie? Is it entertainment? For me it was surely not, you have to be out of your mind to be entertained by this. Was it inspiring? I am still a bit under shock from what I saw. Reality check: I mean we don't get into how a 14 year old girl would overcome a 32 year old guy and tie him up in a chair or stretch him out on an operating table and into a position to hang himself? Then he gets out from his chain, after the operation and it seems like it was easy. So why he did not get out before? Then at the door with the Asian woman she loses her wits suddenly? Then the guy walks around the house like nothing happened? Anyway, the filmmakers clearly let the girl get away with what she did. Child abuse is bad, but to inspire people to take justice into their own hands is worse.

English writing isn't my strongest side, but here goes: I did not appreciate the film. You have to be either a vengeful eunuch or twisted girl to appreciate this creepy, disgusting flick. Who in their right mind could ever condole a 14-year-old girl on a power trip, castrating a man because she feels it is the right thing to do?! Goodness! How would any girl want to watch a lenghty film about a woman getting her breasts and clit removed with a razer blade, because a kid feels like it. You wouldn't. You vigilantes! "The vigilante knows it is not vengeance they seek, nor even some lending of respectability to the spirit of vengeance. The vigilante is no avenger. The vigilante simply wants punishment, or just deserts, and they want it swift and sure. The only problem is that vigilante justice is sometimes too swift and too sure. Vicious beatings and on-the-spot executions do not fit the crime. The only purpose that vigilantism serves is to turn the tables on those criminals who make victims out of people."

HARD CANDY is one of those films that took enormous courage on the part of the writer (Brian Nelson), director (David Slade), and producers - let alone the actors - to bring a tale of pedophilia to the mainstream audience. Made for a small budget (yet the production values are so very artistic that it feels like an expensive film), HARD CANDY is essentially a duet for two actors: the actors Ellen Page and Patrick Wilson deliver performances that become indelibly burned on the mind of the viewer. 32-year old photographer Jeff has been chatting online with 14-year old Haley for three weeks using standard chat room seduction lines. They meet, talk, seem to get along well - until Haley invites herself to Jeff's home, much against Jeff's better judgment. Once home the beautiful space in which Jeff lives (the set decor is splendid, using sensitive colors in a cinematic way), the walls adorned with photographs of young models, seems a fitting space for a fine photographer. But soon the twist of the story explodes and Haley lets Jeff know that she is there to punish him for his pedophilia and for some specific events in his history. She drugs him, and when he awakens Jeff is the captive, forced to undergo the intensive questioning and innuendos from Haley, including being set up for castration. The tension mounts to a peak as the two characters uncover aspects of each other; the final resolution of the long encounter comes as a stunning surprise. The quality of the film is so fine that no judgments are made: is Jeff truly a criminal pedophile?, is Haley insane?, can this reversal of roles happen? The script is so beautifully written that it remains intelligent and straight, forcing the viewer to become involved in the quest for truth. Ellen Page delivers a brilliant performance as Haley and Patrick Wilson steps out of his usual milk toast roles to create a man driven by strange needs who gradually comes to a point of self acceptance in one of the more powerful scenes of film this viewer has seen. The audience for this examination of pedophilia may be small and therein lies the pity. This is a film that deals with a tough subject so very well that the viewer gains an understanding into dysfunctional characteristics while being caught up in a suspenseful thriller of a story. This is independent film making at its best.