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List Price: $14.98 | | Label: Lions Gate
Salesrank: 5407
Released: September 19, 2006 |
| Our Price: $6.10 |
| Used Price: $2.73 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
A smart, charming teenage girl, Hayley probably shouldn't be going to a local coffee shop to meet Jeff, a 30-something fashion photographer she met on the Internet. But before she knows it, she's mixing drinks at Jeff's place and stripping for an impromptu photo shoot. It's Jeff's lucky night. But Hayley isn't as innocent as she looks, and the night takes a turn when she begins to impose a hard-hitting investigation on Jeff in an attempt to reveal his possibly scandalous past.
Description of Hard Candy:
The supercharged possibilities of a single set and two amped-up actors are explored in Hard Candy, a twisted cocktail with a poison kicker. After a flirtatious encounter in an online chat room, two people agree to meet for coffee: a 32-year-old man (Patrick Wilson) and a 14-year-old girl (Ellen Page). They quickly advance to his house, and just as quickly, the apparent pedophilic seduction morphs into something else entirely. After the tables turn, Hard Candy becomes a tale of revenge and torture that might have tempted a filmmaker like Park Chanwook. Here, first-time feature director David Slade opts for a slick look that stays close to the actors, and you can't really blame him--this movie is like a conceptual, more-than-slightly unbelievable off-Broadway play, a showcase for actors and "controversial" ideas. Those actors are strong: Patrick Wilson (Angels in America, Phantom of the Opera) is every bit as creepy as he needs to be, and Ellen Page has nothing short of a triumph. The Canadian actress was around 18 when she shot the film, but looks like an adolescent, which makes her authoritative wrath all the more shocking to witness. The provocations of Hard Candy sometimes seem arbitrary or forced, but Page's electrifying performance can't be denied, or dismissed. --Robert Horton
Hard Candy Reviews:
Hard Candy, Great Movie! 
2009-11-19 - My girlfriend enjoyed this movie together after it arrived in great condition and in a short amount of time. Great movie and great seller.
Something wicked this way comes
2009-11-19 - I've seen this movie twice so far and it's even better the second time around. There's lots of foreshadowing in the beginning of the movie that was fun to notice again -- the "missing child" poster at the cafe, the playful questioning each other if faces can lie, and the toast where they announce they're going to "take it all".
There's definitely a creepiness factor in this movie. The movie starts out with a close-up of a computer screen and you see two people sending very sexy instant messages to each other. You get the feeling that one person is a young teenager while the other is a much older adult. When the two decide to meet at a cafe, your worst fears are confirmed. A 30 something male is meeting a 14 year old girl. ICK.
Ellen Page was perfectly cast for this role because she has such a baby face and small physique. As an audience member, you feel protective of her as she flirts lolita-style with him at the cafe. Other details that highlight how small she is add to the creepiness of what this man is doing -- like when he buys her a shirt in size small or when she puts on his very large jacket.
There are two main themes I noticed in this movie. One theme is innocence. An obvious example is that she's young, but there's also the innocence of guilt. Throughout the film, the man, no matter what he does, keeps insisting to himself that he is a decent, good man. The story he tells in the kitchen also pulls at your heartstrings a bit. This movie definitely messes with you!
Another theme has to do with deception. As mentioned before, there was the deception of faces lying, but there's also the deception of the internet. When you go on the internet, you can transform into anyone you want to be...but how honest is that image? Also revealed are the deceptive means pedophiles use to lure their victims as well as the deceptive means victims use to free themselves from their captors.
I was impressed with the imagery in this film. I just like little details here and there, like the way the window blinds moved, kind of like the shutter of a camera. A real good scene was when he stabbed the photo of a young woman he photographed...but most telling was WHERE on the picture he stabbed her.
I also like the scene that's the first turning point in the film. He's sitting on the couch, the scene goes a little blurry and you see something you're not quite sure if you saw right...and then the plot twist comes and you're taken on an edge-of-your-seat roller coaster ride.
The audience will need to practice some suspension of disbelief to enjoy this movie and if they can do that, this movie won't disappoint. The performances are fair on Ellen Page's part (she tends to overact in some parts) and excellent on the male lead's part. I was extremely impressed with his performance.
Overall, loved this diabolical, clever and twistedly funny movie.
Paint a picture, take a portrait (contains spoilers) 
2009-11-11 - Only in your heart do you believe everything that is true is real.
For others, they don't believe a single thing you know.
You know why?
Because THEY know.
In a world where technology and the internet seem to be able to hide everything we do, people think they can cover their traps by destroying their hard drive or burning their film. To a degree, it can be true--a hard drive full of pictures explodes and it's highly unlikely you'll ever get back; burn the film and it's gone forever, dust particles in the air as the last remnants of a dirty secret slowly turns to nothing.
In HARD CANDY, we learn one man's deadly secret... and one girl's desire to uproot it.
Hailey Stark is your average fourteen-your-old girl. She's cute, innocent, smart, and as charming as she can be. But when she meets thirty-year-old photographer Jeff Kohlver over the internet, she's got more planned than just a 'simple meeting.' After Jeff takes her to his home for an impromptu photoshoot, things steadily start to turn around as Jeff starts slurring his words. As Hailey continuously begs Jeff to 'shoot her,' his world slowly begins to blur...
... and thus, the game is turned upside down.
HARD CANDY is a movie unlike any I have seen in recent history. This psychological thriller could be compared to the grotesque, often-suspenseful SAW franchise, as well as several others in recent history. What's different about HARD CANDY, you ask?
For starts, it deals with a heavy subject--child pornography, a taboo subject you can rarely begin to whisper about without causing some kind of uproar. We've all heard and seen what it's all about, men and women who find themselves carnally attracted to innocent, often prepubescent children. But what do we NOT know about them? Their schemes, their lies, their 'she asked for it' excuses--they're all a ploy on their behalf, an excuse to get out of something they believe they didn't do wrong.
In the end, everyone knows what's wrong.
So does Hailey.
As the movie slowly begins to drag on, we begin to learn that Hailey knows a lot more than is expected. For one, she knows about Donna, the girl who's missing; and for two, she knows about Janelle, the girl Jeff obsesses over to the point of keeping letters, pictures, and even more incriminating evidence. What's originally thought of as a 'casual, albeit disturbing' meeting quickly turns into a torture session involving one little girl and the man she knows who did something wrong.
HARD CANDY is definitely an entertaining movie--I'll say that before I even begin to cut into the pros and cons of the film. It's suspenseful, psychological, entertaining; it's all these things and more, yet the true impact behind the movie is what's buried within the roots. While the film broadcasts itself as a 'psychological thriller,' I see HARD CANDY as a thinking person's movie, as well as a film with an amazing cast.
PROS:
-- The main actors. Both Ellen Page and Patrick Wilson do an amazing job feeding off one another from the moment the film begins to the moment it ends. As someone who has only seen Page in one previous movie, I was surprised how easily (and how successfully) she could transition from being a cute, innocent girl to something more than that. Wilson plays a perfect terrified victim. I think the best part about the movie is the cast. Although small (limited to only five characters,) each and every actor pulled their rolls off greatly.
-- The suspense. There wasn't a moment where I WASN'T on the edge of my seat during this movie.
-- The dialogue and interaction. As I mentioned with the main actors, the way Page and Wilson work off one another is amazing to watch. An innocent victim, a psychological nutcase--this is how I'd see a scenario like this playing out.
Sadly, though, there are a few things I picked up on when watching HARD CANDY.
CONS:
-- The castration scene. It didn't necessarily bother me in the sense that I felt it was unnecessary (because in a plot and story like this is, it was completely necessary,) but in the sense of how it was executed. When Hailey begins the castration process, we notice Jeff is in pain, but not expressing his pain in a way the viewer would expect. Up until that point, he was screaming over mundane (if still extreme) details, but when he's being castrated, he simply lays there, grits his teeth, and sweats. I can contribute this to shock, but it surprised me to hear that Jeff wasn't screaming even a little bit.
-- The 'clean up.' There were several points during the movie when Hailey is cleaning herself up that she completely ignores the obvious things that could get her caught (mainly the point in which she walks through the house soaking-wet.) I can only assume that she had wet shoes after she dragged Jeff into the shower. Maybe it's just me (or maybe it helps contribute to Hailey's selfless want to destroy someone she hates,) but regardless, it's one part of Hailey's character that can be questioned to the point of redundancy.
Despite its extremely-minor flaws, HARD CANDY is an amazing movie. Wilson and Page are superb, the story (though slightly underdeveloped) is captivating, and the suspense keeps you on the end of your seat until the movie's finally over. A definite watch for any horror/suspense fan.
Edge of your seat...
2009-09-22 - A terrific movie with equally terrific actors. Kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. Ellen Page was perfect for this role before her sweet role in Juno.
Interesting and dark movie 
2009-09-14 - I thought the plot of the movie was weird, but the performances were amazing. I also enjoyed the look of the movie and the way it was directed; very interesting and suspenseful. I would say it is perhaps better as a rental than one to own because I doubt I'll ever be compelled to watch it again, but it was worth watching once since Ellen Page is excellent in it.
