Review of Candy (2013) by Eric Linwood Olsen — 31 Mar 2010

I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. The writing is the weakest part, but I really enjoyed the cinematography, music, and acting. The opening scene is perhaps one of the most beautifully shot and well done openings I have ever seen.

However, the story never really goes too deep into the topic of drug addiction that we don't already know. The scene where we see Dan and Candy locking themselves in their house while trying to get the heroin out of their system is pretty powerful; I'd say it was just as good as the similar scene done in Trainspotting.

I enjoyed the Heaven, Earth, and Hell separations. When they are in Heaven everything is happy and carefree, while on Earth things become more real and difficult but there is still hope, and then Hell where all hope is gone.

Even though I knew it was going to end up in Hell, I still hoped it would show a turn around on Earth. The main problem is that the writer needed to create a better connection with the characters in the Heaven segment of the film.

Of course, it's hard to create a connection without bringing them to reality, but I didn't find a reason to care for them to fall. If it wasn't for that, this film would have been much better.

But Candy is more than just a film about drugs, but about love and being reckless. Even when Candy was being a prostitute for money (mainly for drugs), they were always there for each other. Their love was strong.

Candy was everything to Dan. Dan didn't want to bring Candy a difficult and horrible life, but he loved her so much that he couldn't be without her. They fell in love quick; it was like he needed her and she was drawn to his lifestyle that was quite different from the one she was stuck in.

I would have also enjoyed to go deeper into the poetry aspect for Dan, but we only get a brief mention of it. Overall, it's an interesting film and definitely worth a watch for the performances and the cinematography.