Reviews

Hard Candy

My friends and I review movies for this site.  I organize the Last Call Film Fest.  I also try to watch at least a movie a day.  The company I keep while spending all this time in front of a screen it should be no surprise a number of them turn to the Internet for dates.  Ahem… not me, I met my wife the natural way… mail order.  So even if it is second hand, I hear my fair share of Internet dating horror stories.  My friends are going to have to up the anti to top the online coupling in Hard Candy.

Say you’re a professional photographer in your early thirties and it’s tough to get a date.  What’s a guy to do?  Turn to the information highway, there’s bound to be another devoid bag of skin just waiting to hear from you.  Well the bad news is the Internet is full of sexual predators.  The good news is the Internet is full of sexual prey.  Actors Patrick Wilson and Ellen Page fill these rolls. 

Before seeing Hard Candy I knew the basic plot and I heard claims it ripped off Takashi Miike’s Audition.  While one scene has a strong resemblance to Audition that’s where it ends.  The rest of the movie is an ongoing play for power.  The sad thing is the power struggle is lopsided.  When the tables do turn it’s not for very long and in moments you know the next move.  On the plus side, several scenes had my full-undivided attention.  It wasn’t the dialogue because I always knew where the movie was headed.  The actors and their ability to build tension is what had every ass clenched to the edge of their seat.  Seriously, Ellen Page can turn emotions on a dime.  She’s a cute innocent kid drinking decaf (ugh) lattes then five minutes later she taking actions that would make Damien blush.  Patrick Wilson is no stick in mud either.  The man has an ability to be charming, creepy, and down right pathetic all at the same time.  Most of the movie consists of these two in four rooms orbiting the various circles of hell.

That’s about all I can say about the plot because it’s so simple.  Anything else could possibly spoil it for you.  It’s so simple but it works.  Had lesser actors been cast Hard Candy could have been another un -watchable joke… like Saw.  (I’ll spare you the details of seeing Saw in a German theater with all the Germans laughing at it)  Outside of the acting there is some very cool camera work going on here.  As characters enter or exit a scene the camera remains stationary allowing the actors to bring themselves in focus by walking towards or away from the camera.  Little tricks with editing and blurring one scene with the color of the walls to the next helped the movie flow.  I can’t wait to see what David Slade does with 30 Days of Night.

I still say Hard Candy is predictable.  It’s clear from the beginning who has the upper hand.  The surprises and twists don’t so much shock as move the viewer to the next point.  While that’s true I feel like I’m being too harsh on it.  After all here I am four hours later, still thinking about the garbage disposal, still thinking about the movie.  It may not have been a mind bender but it sure has tense moments.  You know you’re in for a good time when people leave the theater in fear of what they might see.

7.5/10

Andy