..."Hard Candy" goes out of its way to polarize audience reaction to its role-reversal tale of vigilante "justice," forcing the viewer to side with one psychopath or another, a decidedly unsettling experience. Judging by the comments here on the IMDb, it succeeded, even if its box office appeal was limited. This first feature from the creative team that went on to bring us "30 Days of Night" (another strikingly flawed film) relies on a manipulative script that raises more questions than it answers. The two leads, Ellen "Juno" Page and Patrick "Lakeview Terrace" Wilson, do what they can (which is happily a great deal) with their wildly improbable roles, but it's just not enough to salvage anything beyond water-cooler controversy.
Basically, the concept is that a supposedly vulnerable, naive young girl turns the tables on a would-be sexual predator, revealing herself to be the more monstrous of the two. If there weren't so many "oh, c'mons" and "hey, wait a minutes," this time-worn twist might have worked, but subtlety and credibility are not strong suits of Brian Nelson's pulpy screenplay. Page's vengeful angel fails to convince, while Wilson's captured demon equally fails to behave believably in the film's lurid dénouement. "Hard Candy" falters badly under the weight of its own pretensions. It's worth a watch for conversation generation, but don't expect any earthshaking revelations of the human condition. And don't think too hard about how a wisp of a teenage girl could manhandle an unconscious adult male into a standing position on a kitchen chair without strangling him in the process.
Sensationalistic and ultimately disappointing, "Hard Candy" (which interestingly never explains its own title, though the Net-savvy will understand) pales compared to other Little Red Ridinghood tales like the infinitely superior "Freeway."
Basically, the concept is that a supposedly vulnerable, naive young girl turns the tables on a would-be sexual predator, revealing herself to be the more monstrous of the two. If there weren't so many "oh, c'mons" and "hey, wait a minutes," this time-worn twist might have worked, but subtlety and credibility are not strong suits of Brian Nelson's pulpy screenplay. Page's vengeful angel fails to convince, while Wilson's captured demon equally fails to behave believably in the film's lurid dénouement. "Hard Candy" falters badly under the weight of its own pretensions. It's worth a watch for conversation generation, but don't expect any earthshaking revelations of the human condition. And don't think too hard about how a wisp of a teenage girl could manhandle an unconscious adult male into a standing position on a kitchen chair without strangling him in the process.
Sensationalistic and ultimately disappointing, "Hard Candy" (which interestingly never explains its own title, though the Net-savvy will understand) pales compared to other Little Red Ridinghood tales like the infinitely superior "Freeway."