Amy WangHard Candy
August 30th 2009 15:28
After watching Juno, I was blown away by Ellen Page's performance and her seemingly laid back personality and was so intrigued by her, I had to seek out other projects she had done. Accordingly, I came across Hard Candy. I had bough Hard Candy quite a long time ago and only recently decided to give it a go because I was told not to attempt it unless I was in the 'right mood'. You know those movies that often tackle difficult themes or show gratuitous violence or sex scenes, where if you weren't in the right mood, you'd just dislike the film no matter how good it was? Well, thank goodness I was in the right mood because I thought this film was fantastic. Now, again, because it was shot on such a low budget and was very much an indie film with a cast of about 4 people (Ellen Page, Patrick Wilson, Sandra Oh and 'Girlfriend'), do not expect something that will change your life. However, how this film was crafted and how it was made with the limitations it had was phenomenal.
Overall Plot:
Ellen Page plays 14 year old Hayley Stark, a seemingly naive girl who after talking to a man online for three weeks decide to meet with him at a coffee shop. Patrick Wilson, who plays this older man, appears to be intelligent, suave, handsome and seemingly harmless to Hayley. It is only after Hayley agrees with return to his house that things start to get interesting. Again, as I don't like to disclose too much information, I'll just say that the film is thematically about paedophilia but on a more interesting level, really plays with the good guy/bad guy situation. The audience is constantly played, often confused about whether their sympathy is going to the right person.
I can't praise the two lead actors enough. If you thought Ellen Page was great in Juno, you'll absolutely adore her in Hard Candy. Well, maybe 'adore' isn't the right word to use here, but her performance in this was the right amount of innocence, likability and shock. Similarly, Patrick Wilson's character, having to go through a lot throughout the film, did such a good job playing the victim but at the same time, the perpetrator of some unforgiving things.
The camera work used in this film should also be mentioned, especially the use of closeup for the majority to really capture the intensity of the characters and their emotions. Due to the extreme closeups through the film, this really required the actors to focus, because any slip would've showed on camera. This technique I felt really suited the film because it really drew the audience into their world, and at the same time made us feel close to their situations, their feelings, their fears and most of all, their inner thoughts.
The lighting and colour in the film were also very uniquely executed, where discolouration would often occur during one shot. For example, during a close up shot of Ellen Page as she changes her tone of voice, the previously warm colour scheme melts before our eyes into a dark blue scheme to match her change in tone. Similarly, the lighting, mostly derived from the blinds surrounding the house cast a very subtle and beautiful light throughout the house. The contrast between light and darkness, especially on the actors' faces were done beautifully and added for me the whole cinematic experience of the film.
The one problem I had with it was that although the performances, the stylistics and the script were all phenomenal, the drives for each character was missing. I did not understand why Ellen Page's character Hayley needed or had to do all those things and why Patrick Wilson did what he did. I know they're supposed to be left up to your imagination, but without a little information, it was hard to know what was at stake or what would've happened if things had turned out differently. Also, I felt during the 'hard to watch scenes', that more could've been shown and less left to the imagination just to take it to the next level.
However, I do know paedophilia is a major issue in current society and not much information about why the person did it is necessary for an audience to feel hatred towards the perpetrator. As discussed in my previous review on 'Deliver Us From Evil', a documentary about a Catholic priest whose youngest rape victim was a 8 month old baby, paedophilia comes in different forms. And with the internet in our present age, it's easier than ever to share files, download and lure young girls in chatrooms just like in Hard Candy.
Overall, I thought this film was very well done. A great script. Great actors, a nice director and just a very thoughtful and challenging storyline and themes. I give this film 4 STARS OUT OF 5.
Peace out.
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