Review of Hard Candy (2005) by D. M — 13 Mar 2017

The two stars given are earned exclusively by the lead actors, without whom the tensity would be considerably weakened, leaving this movie with not a lot left to stand on. While often espoused as "controversial" or "brave," the subject of pederasty is used as an easy-target incendiary device in order to make torture more palatable to the viewer.

While you do get the occasional sense that the protagonist is herself disturbed, by the end of the film it feels as though she is celebrated as a paragon of vigilantism. Boiled down, Hard Candy is violent revenge fantasy with a strong sense of moral superiority.