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Hard Candy (2006)
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Movie Review by Bobby B 
May 12th, 2008
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Strangers Shouldn't Talk to Little Girls
There are times when talent is as empirical as speed, when it cannot be questioned or denied. You know, Prince talent, Michaelangelo talent, Kobe Bryant talent, talent that goes beyond skill or hard work or even conviction. There are moments when talent is as naked as a waterfall; it is simply there -- raw and pulsing for everybody to see. If by chance this type of force-of-nature talent is then supported by intelligence and craft than we find ourselves in the presence of a transcendent artist. Ellen Page has that kind of talent. A teen-ager(!) when she made this movie she was already adept at delineating character, generating power and improvising skillfully -- capturing the essence of a moment. It's a startling performance.
This is good because the premise the movie is built around is, shall we say, slight. A man in his thirties is carrying on an on-line flirtation with a teen-age girl (okay, we haven't reached the far-fetched part yet.) They agree to meet and do at a coffee shop. They continue their rather grotesque flirtation and she convinces him to bring her over to his place where she eventually reveals that everything is not quite as it seems and the whole predator and prey paradigm has been turned upside down. It's one of those story-lines that has an initial “wouldn't it be neat if…” quotient that doesn't usually pan out in execution. The director, David Slade (30 DAYS OF NIGHT), who will, I'm sure, one day become one of our premier horror stylists, spends a lot of time and energy beefing up the flimsy plot with fancy editing and scene staging. In the end though, he relies on the strengths of his cast. Ultimately, as is so often the case but especially in a two-person, primarily single set piece like this one, this is where the film is going to live or die.
And HARD CANDY doesn't just live it thrives. Page is amazing of course, and she is ably matched by Patrick Wilson's sleazy, photographer. His performance is not as off-the-charts dazzling as Page's but his role is probably more important in the selling of the story. If this grown, fit, reasonably intelligent man isn't convincingly confused and terrified by his fourteen year old antagonist the movie falls apart. It almost does anyway despite the efforts of Wilson and Page, as situation after improbable situation comes up and is quickly resolved. But then, all of a sudden, a terrible confession is made and you realize that you're at the end of this ordeal, it's about to be over and the past two hours have flown by. The ending doesn't stick but by that time everything that came before carries more weight.
David Slade directs as though style and substance are constantly at war within him. His movies are beautifully shot, energetically edited and generally move forward with tremendous muscle and verve. There are times in both HARD CANDY and 30 DAYS OF NIGHT when you wish he and his screen writer (Brian Wilson) had crafted the situations presented with a little more common sense and not so much reliance on momentum -- but both are undoubtedly compelling movies.
But the moment belongs to Ellen Page. Haley Stark is going to go down in history as a seminal hero/villain in the cinematic battle of the sexes and Ellen Page is on her way to becoming one our brightest stars. Period.
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 | Jarrod
May 12, 2008 2:54 PM
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| This is a very disturbing movie; I thought Ellen Page was better here than in Juno, but they are two completely different roles, a testament to her amazing talents. It is puzzling and provocative; the title I always found amusing, considering the subject matter. Oh, what awful stuff Patrick Wilson goes through, that scene where Hayley says she is going to castrate him still sticks in my mind above all else. |
 | Zombie Boy
May 12, 2008 3:25 PM
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| This movie is a big favorite for me. I must disagree and say that I thought Patrick Wilson's performance was top-notch. I mean, the man pulled at his bindings so hard that he literally passed out during a take. You should watch the commentary that he and Page do together on the disc. It is really good. |
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May 12, 2008 3:23 PM
May 13, 2008 7:05 PM