schism101 Review of Hard Candy

Hard Candy (2005)

disturbing and brilliantly acted film (POSSIBLE SPOILERS)

[9/10 · 9 July 2006]

HARD CANDY deals with the touchy subject of pedophilia and the internet. The film begins with a close up shot of a computer screen and an internet chat room messenger board, the conversation being between thonggirl and lensman. Lensman is the trying to get thonggirl to meet up with him. Thonggirl eventually does and they meet up in a coffee shop. We learn that thonggirl is hayley (ellen page)a 14 year old intelligent and bright teenager and lensman is jeff (patrick Wilson) a 32 year old photographer. They talk about literature, music and photography, then jeff entices hayley back to his place to let her listen to a bootlegged goldfrapp concert mp3. She goes back to his place and they exchange more talk, and drink alcohol, courtesy of jeff, until hayley shows her true reasons for going back to jeff's house. Hayley drugs and ties him up, with the intention of exposing him as a pedophile. The role reversal of hayley being the hunter and jeff being the hunted is what drives the interesting element of this film. The director, David Slade, and screenwriter, Brian Nelson, handle the subject very well, and treat it with sensitivity and without being sensational or exploitative. The actors, are both brilliant in there roles. Wilson, offers a depth to his character, yes he is a monster, but there might be reasons for his behaviour whether through a lost love, his role as a fashion photographer filming teenage models or through a chidhood incident. Page also deserves credit for bringing an interesting and complex character in Hayley. Again we are unsure whether what she is doing is right or whether she is probably disturbed, these questions keep popping up and leave the audience to decide whether Hayley is an avenging angel out to rid the world of the pedophile menace or if she is someone whose actions may and have crossed the line, and whose actions border on the psychotic. Also another interesting point is that the use of the photos in Jeffs house, of teenage models, could be seen as an attack on the fashion industry's use of teenage almost child like models dressed up to look as sexy young and attractive women, that Jeff's possible actions could have been prompted by the pictures he has all over his house. HARD CANDY is an interesting and complex film that will leave you talking about it after the end credits have rolled, which is obviously the intention of the filmmakers and it also certainly has contention as being one of the best films of the year.