Review of Hard Candy (2005) by Taniel . — 19 Jun 2011

Hard Candy is a stunningly twisted and raw drama that follows an intelligent teen as she engages in a psychologically twisted game of cat and mouse with an internet predator who she intends to expose. This disturbing film was directed by David Slade and written by Brian Nelson. The two stars of the film are Ellen Page and Patrick Wilson.

This is not a film, it's an experience. You don't feel like your watching a fictional film. The acting is so realistic, Wilson and Page become their characters rather than act. Slade's direction is fantastic and the film is shot in such an in-your-face way that it feels like your watching a documentary. This is truly a masterfully executed film. It was a risky project for all the people creatively involved, but it pays off. This film is absolutely brilliant.

Ellen Page is absolutely mesmerizing as Hayley Stark, it's a dynamic and shell-shocking performance. She is so ruthless and fascinating that she's almost percieved as the villian in this film by some. That is what makes this film so controversial. Yes, Jeff is supposedly a pedophile, but some people are turned off by how vicious and ruthless Page is in this film. She is so malicious and unsympathetic towards pain that people consider her the villian of the film.

That being said, Page's evil is matched with Wilson's charisma. I don't know how he does it, but he gives such a charismatic and charming performance that you actually root for him to NOT be a pedophile. Your dying for Page to be proven wrong because you somehow want to believe that Wilson is telling the truth. I give credit to Nelson's script, in which he convincingly contradicts each character by increasingly intense dialogue and mannerisms by each character makes you feel more sympathetic towards one more than the other. It's a true cat and mouse film, back and forth. At the end of the film, you'll be left shell-shocked. You'll wonder whether justice was served, or if it was too ruthless.

I found myself rooting for Page's character mainly because pedophiles disgust me, but I can honestly see where people claim that Page was over-the-top vicious. That's what makes this film so incredible, it's an experiment that lets the audience react to it, rather than force emotion. It lets you think for yourself. It's precisely paced and cleverly written, my God, I can't not praise the execution of this film enough. It's about as close to a masterpiece as I've seen with low budget films.

Hard Candy is a stunning film that will leave audiences split and shell-shocked long after the credits conclude.