2008 Woodie Awards
Who wants a girl who is tough, but sweet?
Hard Candy explores two disturbed people
Danny Acosta
Issue date: 5/9/06 Section: Detour
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Hard Candy is 103 unforgettable minutes. The film's title is Internet slang for under-aged girl. Hard Candy was an official Sundance Film Festival selection in 2005. It took half a decade for production to start due to its controversial subject matter. First time director David Slade brings playwright Brian Nelson's script to life.
The film begins with the pings of Internet chat dialogue. Lensman319 and Thonggrrrrl14 have a witty and flirty conversation. With each key strike, the sexual tension builds. The precocious comments of Thonggrrrrl14 and the confident, somewhat submissive responses of Lensman319 carry on to an arranged coffee shop meeting. She is Hayley (Ellen Page) and he is Jeff (Patrick Wilson). These two characters are fervently explored through the rest of this dramatic, psychological, horrific thriller.
The opening coffee shop scene demonstrates all of the film's strengths: vivid cinematography, character close-ups, excellent chemistry, fast cuts, and sparring dialogue. Hayley enjoys a slice of chocolate cake while she waits for her Internet interest. Jeff enters. They skip formal introductions since they already "know" each other. Hayley inquires if Jeff would like anything. He wipes the chocolate off of her lip with his finger. He licks his finger.
Hayley has an indistinct eye color and her eyebrows are awkwardly tweezed as only a young teen can do. Her short hair suggests a girl oppressed by her age; a girl attempting to be a woman. She wears an apple red sweater with matching tights and a thrift store skirt. Jeff is the typical young professional. He wears a pressed dress shirt with the top buttons undone. He has a nice coat. This is off-set by stubble creeping across his face and a half-trendy hair cut. Jeff's dark, square glasses distinguish him as the hip photographer he claims to be.
Their conversation is pushed into a dark direction. They delve into sexual implications - brought on by Hayley. Jeff obliges eagerly to her request to see his house. They leave the coffee shop. The few people in the coffee shop will not notice they are gone. On a roof top parking lot, Slade's direction twists the audience into a grim state of hope. Hayley stands inches away from Jeff's car. They trade reasons to leave and reasons to stay. She can turn back now. Hayley gets into the car…after Jeff gets on his knees and begs.
The next 90 minutes drift in an ambience of expressive ambiguity. The characters are excavated through escalating scenes of psychological brutality. The film ends the same way it began - with teeth-pulling tension. The layers conveyed through the writing, directing, and acting make Hard Candy a winner in everyone of its categories: exploitation, thriller, and drama. While Robert Redford wallows in pain because his Sundance Film Festival is turning into a party scene, films like Hard Candy can act as his pain killer. Just as Nabokov had his exploration of pedophilia through a flowery narrative in Lolita, Slade has his through deliberate filmmaking in Hard Candy.
The film begins with the pings of Internet chat dialogue. Lensman319 and Thonggrrrrl14 have a witty and flirty conversation. With each key strike, the sexual tension builds. The precocious comments of Thonggrrrrl14 and the confident, somewhat submissive responses of Lensman319 carry on to an arranged coffee shop meeting. She is Hayley (Ellen Page) and he is Jeff (Patrick Wilson). These two characters are fervently explored through the rest of this dramatic, psychological, horrific thriller.
The opening coffee shop scene demonstrates all of the film's strengths: vivid cinematography, character close-ups, excellent chemistry, fast cuts, and sparring dialogue. Hayley enjoys a slice of chocolate cake while she waits for her Internet interest. Jeff enters. They skip formal introductions since they already "know" each other. Hayley inquires if Jeff would like anything. He wipes the chocolate off of her lip with his finger. He licks his finger.
Hayley has an indistinct eye color and her eyebrows are awkwardly tweezed as only a young teen can do. Her short hair suggests a girl oppressed by her age; a girl attempting to be a woman. She wears an apple red sweater with matching tights and a thrift store skirt. Jeff is the typical young professional. He wears a pressed dress shirt with the top buttons undone. He has a nice coat. This is off-set by stubble creeping across his face and a half-trendy hair cut. Jeff's dark, square glasses distinguish him as the hip photographer he claims to be.
Their conversation is pushed into a dark direction. They delve into sexual implications - brought on by Hayley. Jeff obliges eagerly to her request to see his house. They leave the coffee shop. The few people in the coffee shop will not notice they are gone. On a roof top parking lot, Slade's direction twists the audience into a grim state of hope. Hayley stands inches away from Jeff's car. They trade reasons to leave and reasons to stay. She can turn back now. Hayley gets into the car…after Jeff gets on his knees and begs.
The next 90 minutes drift in an ambience of expressive ambiguity. The characters are excavated through escalating scenes of psychological brutality. The film ends the same way it began - with teeth-pulling tension. The layers conveyed through the writing, directing, and acting make Hard Candy a winner in everyone of its categories: exploitation, thriller, and drama. While Robert Redford wallows in pain because his Sundance Film Festival is turning into a party scene, films like Hard Candy can act as his pain killer. Just as Nabokov had his exploration of pedophilia through a flowery narrative in Lolita, Slade has his through deliberate filmmaking in Hard Candy.