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Hard Candy
2006
Claustrophobic and brightly coloured, this tightly wound psychological thriller is constantly pulling the rug out from under the viewer, mostly due to the tense, explosive performances of its two main characters. The tale opens with a coffee shop rendezvous between 14-year-old Haley (the fantastic Ellen Page) and 32-year-old .. Read more
| Starring | Ellen Page, Patrick Wilson, Sandra Oh, Jennifer Holmes |
|---|---|
| Director | David Slade |
| Genres | Thriller |
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Hard Candy
Claustrophobic and brightly coloured, this tightly wound psychological thriller is constantly pulling the rug out from under the viewer, mostly due to the tense, explosive performances of its two main characters. The tale opens with a coffee shop rendezvous between 14-year-old Haley (the fantastic Ellen Page) and 32-year-old fashion photographer Jeff (Patrick Wilson), who have previously met only online in a chat room. Despite his questionable enthusiasm at meeting a girl half his age, Jeff comes off as slightly awkward and shy; rather, it’s Haley who is unnervingly forthright in her flirtation. She suggests that they go back to his place, he complies, and, once there, Haley seductively convinces him to take pictures of her. She exhibits a beguiling mixture of innocence and precocious sexuality, but before anything happens between them, Jeff passes out under the influence of the drugs she's slipped him. When he wakes up, Haley drops her innocent demeanor and begins to undertake a meticulously planned game of retribution against her captive pedophile. She hacks into his computer and ransacks his house while he watches helplessly, and she ultimately raises the ante with a surgical procedure sure to make audiences squirm. The exact nature of Jeff's guilt remains nebulous, however, creating an intriguing uncertainty surrounding Haley's own mental state, and just how psychotic she might be. Expectations are continuously thwarted as the two characters--neither of whom is terribly sympathetic--enact a psychological and physical game of cat and mouse that is as fascinating to watch as a train wreck.
| Starring | Ellen Page, Patrick Wilson, Sandra Oh, Jennifer Holmes |
|---|---|
| Director | David Slade |
| Studio | LIONS GATE HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 40 mins Watch now: 1 hr 40 mins |
| Certificate | DVD: , Watch Online: |
| Genres | Thriller |
| Language | DVD: English Watch Online: English |
| Released | DVD: 30 Oct 2006 Watch now: 13 Jul 2009 Production year: 2006 |
| Watch now | £2.49 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (3)
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Destined to be one of the most talked about films of the year
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This year's most controversial thriller
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Most helpful member's review
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85 out of 96 people found this review helpful
Totally gripping
This is a tense, edge-of-the-seat two-hander that hits you hard and keeps you guessing right up to the very end. It constantly toys with your emotions, swinging sympathy back and forth between the two characters as their roles shift continuously from predator to prey and back again. Page and Wilson are both breathtakingly good in their parts. Most of the film is played out in long, tight close-ups of their sweating faces, picking out every nuance and look of fear. A tough-as-nails, scary-as-hell movie that really isn't for the faint-hearted, although it does (thankfully) follow the often forgotten rule that what's implied is a hell of a lot more powerful than what's shown.
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Most recent members' review
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8 out of 11 people found this review helpful
I'll try not to quote Amazon...
I didn't know what to expect from this movie, though I knew the premise for it and gathered that it might be a decent horror movie. Though it seems like it's a movie with a message, but the message I couldn't decipher. I didn't quite understand what it's attempt was; was it to have the viewer side with the victim, if so then who is the victim, was it about how paedophiles should be dealt with, was it questioning how paedophiles are viewed by society, or was it about how child abuse can cause the abused to act out against their abusers. I don't know.
On the face of this basis alone, it could almost be a good movie. Any movie that sticks in your mind after viewing, at least 24 hours, has to be a good movie. Perhaps the filmmaker’s attempt was to make the viewer evaluate or re-evaluate their current position on the 'issues' brought up in the film (though as stated, these issues are foggy at best). If this is so, then it could be considered a good piece.
The good points;
Acting is excellent. These are actors that I will certainly will be looking out for in the future, particularly Ellen Page, I'd like to see if she is able to shake off characterisation as a psychopath; she really was very good. Another reviewer mentioned that this movie was unusual for only having 5 cast members, but I really eat that stuff up, I feel you can't act if you don't have an ability to build up the character on screen. These actors have it in spades (disregarding the other three, so this is really a 2 people movie).
The movie wasn't saturated with the usual visual tricks that dog most 'trendy' movies. I hate those little camera tricks that they do in movies, this came without them. The only thing, visually, that I didn't like was the title sequence. All movies now have a flashy title sequence, so this wasn't too much to overcome. People ignore them anyway, unless of course they are better than the movie themselves, which is usually the case with most movies that have them.
Overall the premise was something I felt demanded something from the audience, but I was left scratching my head. I went into, and out of this movie with the same opinion about paedophiles and child abuse, I feel that most people will. This movie if anything will only accomplish which side of the pitch you play on, Right or Left. But I would like to ask anyone who watches this movie if there was any justice that took place in it, don't answer it too quickly. Try to do the director's and writer's job for them. There's no easy answer here, but there is a right one, and if only this movie was written and shot the right way, we may be a little closer to it. This was the job of those two and they failed (though film was visually good, so I will watch for other projects by director).
Soundtrack wasn't bad either (What's so wrong about Goldfrapp?) -
News and features
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Slade signs as Eclipse director
- 23 Apr 2009
The cast of the Twilight franchise are in for a scary ride when filming starts on the vampire series' third outing Eclipse - horror moviemaker David Slade has been signed to the project. Speculation over the director of the third bloodsucking movie has been rife over recent months, with Drew Barrymore and Juan Antonia Bayona both being linked to the coveted position. Catherine Hardwicke broke records with her take on Twilight, while Chris Weitz is currently in charge of the forthcoming sequel... Read more
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Claustrophobic and brightly coloured, this tightly wound psychological thriller is constantly pulling the rug out from under the viewer, mostly due to the tense, explosive performances of its two ... -