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.
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
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
You won't be able to look away:
Patrick Wilson and Ellen Page turn in haunting yet rhapsodic performances as a 32-year-old photographer and a precocious 13-year-old in this disturbing flick about a grown man with dirty secrets and the child whose genius and intuition bring about lethal punishments. Wilson's performance is powerful in that he manages to balance depravity with just enough charm to leave you feeling a bit sorry for him, even though he deserves what he gets at the hands of the clever little girl who confronts him with... more info
Mesmerizing thriller:
Patrick Wilson shows his absolute astounding acting talent in this 2006 thriller and is 180 degrees different than the role he played as the viscount in Andrew Lloyd Webber's 2004 masterpiece, Phantom of the Opera. Both Wilson and Ellen Page could not have played their parts better. Just when you think you know what is about to happen, there is a twist and this continues to the very end. If you like thrillers, if you like fantastic acting, directing and screenwriting you will love this movie. Note: there... more info
HARD CANDY leaves a bitter taste in Society's Mouth!:
What? Where am I? Okay, did I just wake up from a Horrible Nightmare or what? I'm telling you right now, this so-called film can startle my dreams into HELL, litterally! I thought the story plot from this one would be harmless, boy, was I wrong. This was going way too far. Listen everybody, there's a positive way to handle a Blood-Curdling crisis and there's a negative way. Why does this movie have to hit very close to home anyway? I was very ashamed after this was over. It was very... more info
Hard Candy:
In "Juno", Ellen Page played the quirky, independent music loving girl, and I have to admit, I have a soft spot for that sort of thing. I was crushing on her a little bit. After seeing "Juno", the first thing I did was come home and IMDB her. This is how I found out about "Hard Candy". "Hard Candy" is disturbing. Let's just get that out of the way. It's the anti-"Juno". This is not the lighthearted independent comedy where you leave the theater giggling. I bet that when the movie is over, at least 50%... more info
