HARD CANDY proves it's better than that chewy kind

Hard Candy

Release Date: 2005

Directed by: David Slade

A 14-year-old girl. A 32-year-old photographer. A coffee shop. The Internet. A chat room. A sexual predator. These are the main components that make Hard Candy, a stylish psychological thriller work. Well, sort of.  The potential could-be transparent film is surprisingly brought to life with it's unconventional take on all these things. The film's reverse psychology and exclusive look at a certain predatory madness is so shocking that you'll probably feel just as ambushed as I did. (Don't fret, this is a good thing.)


Juno's Ellen Page plays Hayley Stark, a sweet innocent girl who goes to meet Jeff (Insidious' Patrick Wilson), a 30-something photographer, at a local coffee shop. Minutes later, Hayley is at Jeff's apartment drinking vodka, dancing and stripping for an impromptu photo shoot. This may be the luckiest night of Jeff's life--this is essentially what he wanted, right?


The first 20 minutes of the film are filled with intense, edge-of-your-seat mania that we'd expect in an arriving awkward situation like this one. But what if all isn't what it seems? What if what happens next is  as jaw-dropping and unbelievable as the film itself? (Don't fret, again this is a good thing)


Meet Hayley Stark--a 14 year old troubled youth who fooled Jeff from day one. Hayley then drugs him and ties him to his office chair. (Wait a second, that wasn't supposed to happen) 


The sudden twist of events is what makes Hard Candy special in its own right. 30 Days Of Night director David Slade 's immoral dilemma tale is striking--mainly because of what both of these characters bring to the table.


In an attempt to expose Jeff, Hayley embarks on a journey that we soon realize will end explicitly. Her intentions are deadly, but at first justified. The insanely clever script keeps us contradicting our own judgements, which can't be justified. That's what is so amazing about the film. It was Jeff that took Hayley to his apartment, so why can't we call him the "bad guy"? Hayley just wants revenge and we should understand that right? (Every 14-year-old girl has a plan to catch and kill her online stalker, no?) These questions are EXACTLY why the film resonated so much, because in a way both Hayley and Jeff are playing good guys and bad guys at the same time. 


The manic camera shots througout, keep both characters alive in the cat-and-mouse atmosphere. The art direction involves nothing more than the photographer's home, and it creates the revolution of the film. It keeps us trapped...ultimately like the characters are...trapped in their world of chaos and revenge...of lies, deceit, and ultimately a price to be paid for. But who's price is it? You can't help but be sucked into Hayley's world, even though you know she's wrong, but you can't stay on Jeff's side because we still don't know he's right. Genius directing here. 


Oscar nominee, Ellen Page is superb here--igniting a full-fledged complex youth that glows, just like she did in Juno. Patrick Wilson is just as extraordinary--playing the more tortured of the two and showing a range closer to his emotional Little Children role. He embraces the role with a more sophisticated tone, but plays it well opposite a much younger co-star.


Hard Candy's provocative tone may drive some viewers away. But for those who can handle it, the film displays yet another impressive role that should've garnered Page another Oscar nomination.


GRADE: A-


(Dedicated to Mike Voight)

How INSOMNIA and STEPHEN KING inspired the blog name

Not sleeping and watching movies has always been accurate when describing me. However, I didn't know that this would be the same reason that inspired a blog idea. 

It was about 3 months ago that I got home from work (it was a real late night), and I decided to write a film review on a movie I had already written about for my school paper. I was already in the midst of getting by newspaper clips online to apply for some jobs, but felt it was also time to revamp a few pieces I had already done. I've always liked writing, and always seemed to do so really late when I couldn't sleep or had nothing better to do. While revamping my film review of Hard Candy (which will be my first blog review so stay tuned), I couldn't help but engulf myself in a viewing of Children of the Corn, one of, if not my favorite Stephen King reads. The film also does the book justice (it's Linda Hamilton in her pre-Terminator 2 days). The story, however, is derived from a collection of short stories from Stephen King's masterpiece, The Night Shift. The book deems much relevance, but I was always intrigued with the film adaptations ( Children of the Corn, Maximum Overdrive, Cat's Eye, and my personal favorite, The Mangler, which was directed by the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre's Tobe Hooper.) 

While attempting to get a blog created and knowing I had a lot to say, this didn't seem to be enough if I couldn't even think of a name for this thing. It was at that moment that it all came to me......

THE NIGHT SHIFT'S THE NAME! While my life had already consisted of not sleeping and being up  all night for all the obvious reasons (working, working more, working way more, writing papers, writing more papers, homework, more homework, studying, studying, studying....did I mention working?), it would be a perfect match when you mix in the film and book references of one of the greatest writers of the past 50 years. 


Stephen King's collection of short stories will hopefully bring my collection of short stories afloat, all the while making my INSOMNIA (strangely enough this is also a Stephen King novel) go away. While my life has always been a NIGHT SHIFT, now I can take it literally and give it some more meaning with a film blog that lets me speak out about anything I want.

THIS IS THE TRAILER FOR CHILDREN OF THE CORN. SCARY AS HELL, AND HIGHLY RECOMMENDED....TAKE A LOOK!!!