By Claudia Puig, USA TODAY
Hard Candy, a highly original psychological thriller/revenge fantasy, can be bitterly hard to take and uncomfortably intense, but it's well worth consuming.
The film challenges our expectations and most of the conventions of suspense films. Hayley (Ellen Page), a whip-smart 14-year-old, is by turns innocent and wise beyond her years. The first scenes feature suggestive banter via instant messages between the precocious honor student and Jeff, a 32-year-old photographer (Patrick Wilson).
They meet at a coffeehouse, and Jeff surprises her by being handsome, charming and almost brotherly, hardly the profile of an Internet sexual predator. Hayley's exuberance at their camaraderie is palpable.
What ensues for the next hour is remarkable, riveting and terrifying, highlighted by intimate close-ups, stylized, sometimes frenetic cinematography and unique lighting aptly selected by director David Slade to heighten emotion and drama. The screenplay by Brian Nelson is extremely well written. The movie is as much about dialogue as it is about unspeakable acts. The two go back to Jeff's home, and one has the queasy feeling that Hayley has no idea what may be in store for her, despite her come-ons and taunts. She offers a warning: "Just because a girl knows how to imitate a woman doesn't mean she's ready to do what a woman does."
One simply cannot watch this movie without an almost choking sense of dread. Though we learn that Hayley is no innocent, some part of us is always worrying for her, thanks to Page's masterfully complex portrayal. Wilson also is top-notch as we watch his easy assurance slip away into incalculable terror. Hayley becomes an avenging angel in a shocking way. When Jeff asks who she is, her response is haunting: "I'm every little girl you ever watched, touched, hurt, screwed or killed."
For both sexes, Hard Candy will be disturbing and tough to digest. We may not want to spend two hours contemplating it, but pedophiles are real and the movie is ever timely. The ending may be far-fetched, but it pushes boundaries and compels us to face our own notions of vengeance and justice. It leaves us shaken to the core. Isn't that what provocative art is intended do?
1 comment:
Yeah yeah yeah. I'm still intrigued by this movie, but it's mostly because the girl is so hot. These reviews are starting to make me just wanna say "go see Audition. Then get back to me."
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