"Hard Candy" is about a teenage girl named Hayley (Ellen Page) who likes to surf the web and explore internet dating like most normal teenagers. The film opens up with an instant message chat between Hayley and a much older guy named Jeff (Patrick Wilson). Jeff and Hayley plan to meet up later that day, where their meeting turns into an unexpected series of events. A very intense psychological drama ensues
I just got back from an advanced screening of "Hard Candy" at the Philadelphia Film Festival. And let me be the first to say, this movie was remarkable. The idea behind this film is so powerful and disturbing at the same time. This movie focuses on two people, Hayley who is a 14 year old girl and a 30 something pedophile named Jeff. A movie's subject matter is something that is a serious issue in the world and I think this movie takes the idea of it to a new and unique level.
During this film, I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. You watch with amazement as this little teenage girl who seems so innocent really controls the entire situation. She is smart and has planned everything and anything and the film flows together so nicely. Even though Hayley isn't an overly likable character, I was cheering her on throughout the whole film. She was such an intelligent and wicked character who seemed to be just sickened by pedophiles.
Another thing which was very interesting about this film was that it actually relied more on the facial expressions and dialog then on actual images. There is one part in the film which is extremely disturbing and is something I never seen in a film before. The scene involves Hayley doing an operation to say it in an inexplicit way. During that scene, we never see what's happening but it was spine tingling just seeing the emotions and listening to the dialog of the characters. A powerful scene which was so intense and disturbing I may never forget it.
Lastly, I liked how even though the film was a very powerful drama, the script had some light humor in it as well. The line about Roman Polanski was a classic as well as the whole "I'm an honor roll student" line. The film is so serious at times, it was nice to get a chuckle here and there to allow audiences to take a breather from being pinned to their seats with suspense.
Like I previously stated there are only two real characters in this movie those being Hayley and Jeff. Ellen Page does an incredible job and delivers a mind-blowing performance. Her character is both demented and likable. Patrick Wilson was great as well. He gave a very interesting and powerful performance as a pedophile who didn't want to admit he had a problem. His emotions during this film were incredible and extremely realistic.
"Hard Candy" was directed by first time filmmaker David Slade. I feel this is a breathtaking and powerful first film about an uneasy subject matter that so few talk about. His unique craft of capturing not only the characters emotions and anger but also the unique camera angles is remarkable. Also the unique scenes of darkness and colors were brilliant. I like the fact that the director didn't make the characters out to be fictional characters but someone who we can meet on a daily basis.
The screenplay was written by Brian Nelson who is also a first time screenwriter for a feature film. I normally don't review how I feel about the screenplay but this one was so unique and daring that I feel I have to. The way the script develops the characters is amazing and how the film actually has a real ending instead of one of those cop-out choose your own ending films that so many people are using nowadays. What the film does is leaves everything at the end open to discussion. Why did Hayley do what she did? Who is Hayley really and so forth. It's an incredible screenplay that Mr. Nelson should be extremely proud of.
Bottom Line: "Hard Candy" was such an amazing film with powerful, intense scenes and great acting. The script is extremely fresh and takes the idea of a pedophile film to a new level. This film allows its audience to think and also be shocked by what's going on during the film. It's not a movie for those who like light-hearted films or films that are completely resolved in the end. Hard Candy is really one of those mind f*ck films that when you leave the theater you just want to talk about what just happened. It's a remarkable film that will stay with me for many weeks to come.
MovieManMenzel's final rating for "Hard Candy" is a 9/10. A powerful yet disturbing film that touches on a subject matter that is constantly being ignored in our world but be warned this film is definitely not for the weak hearted crowd.
I just got back from an advanced screening of "Hard Candy" at the Philadelphia Film Festival. And let me be the first to say, this movie was remarkable. The idea behind this film is so powerful and disturbing at the same time. This movie focuses on two people, Hayley who is a 14 year old girl and a 30 something pedophile named Jeff. A movie's subject matter is something that is a serious issue in the world and I think this movie takes the idea of it to a new and unique level.
During this film, I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. You watch with amazement as this little teenage girl who seems so innocent really controls the entire situation. She is smart and has planned everything and anything and the film flows together so nicely. Even though Hayley isn't an overly likable character, I was cheering her on throughout the whole film. She was such an intelligent and wicked character who seemed to be just sickened by pedophiles.
Another thing which was very interesting about this film was that it actually relied more on the facial expressions and dialog then on actual images. There is one part in the film which is extremely disturbing and is something I never seen in a film before. The scene involves Hayley doing an operation to say it in an inexplicit way. During that scene, we never see what's happening but it was spine tingling just seeing the emotions and listening to the dialog of the characters. A powerful scene which was so intense and disturbing I may never forget it.
Lastly, I liked how even though the film was a very powerful drama, the script had some light humor in it as well. The line about Roman Polanski was a classic as well as the whole "I'm an honor roll student" line. The film is so serious at times, it was nice to get a chuckle here and there to allow audiences to take a breather from being pinned to their seats with suspense.
Like I previously stated there are only two real characters in this movie those being Hayley and Jeff. Ellen Page does an incredible job and delivers a mind-blowing performance. Her character is both demented and likable. Patrick Wilson was great as well. He gave a very interesting and powerful performance as a pedophile who didn't want to admit he had a problem. His emotions during this film were incredible and extremely realistic.
"Hard Candy" was directed by first time filmmaker David Slade. I feel this is a breathtaking and powerful first film about an uneasy subject matter that so few talk about. His unique craft of capturing not only the characters emotions and anger but also the unique camera angles is remarkable. Also the unique scenes of darkness and colors were brilliant. I like the fact that the director didn't make the characters out to be fictional characters but someone who we can meet on a daily basis.
The screenplay was written by Brian Nelson who is also a first time screenwriter for a feature film. I normally don't review how I feel about the screenplay but this one was so unique and daring that I feel I have to. The way the script develops the characters is amazing and how the film actually has a real ending instead of one of those cop-out choose your own ending films that so many people are using nowadays. What the film does is leaves everything at the end open to discussion. Why did Hayley do what she did? Who is Hayley really and so forth. It's an incredible screenplay that Mr. Nelson should be extremely proud of.
Bottom Line: "Hard Candy" was such an amazing film with powerful, intense scenes and great acting. The script is extremely fresh and takes the idea of a pedophile film to a new level. This film allows its audience to think and also be shocked by what's going on during the film. It's not a movie for those who like light-hearted films or films that are completely resolved in the end. Hard Candy is really one of those mind f*ck films that when you leave the theater you just want to talk about what just happened. It's a remarkable film that will stay with me for many weeks to come.
MovieManMenzel's final rating for "Hard Candy" is a 9/10. A powerful yet disturbing film that touches on a subject matter that is constantly being ignored in our world but be warned this film is definitely not for the weak hearted crowd.