Consider this a warning but this film will haunt you if you're a dude. I'm serious. Think you're a tough guy? Watch this film and think again, I promise it'll make you squirm in your seat. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Hard Candy starts out with two people meeting at a coffee shop, thirty-something Jeff and 14 year old Hayley who met each other in a chat room. They talk and she ends up coming to his place. And from there on everything is a gamble and don't worry, there are no spoilers here. It's one of those films that's the more terrifying the less you know about it.
Although I have seen this film before, it was still good on second try and luckily I had more of a chance to actually look at it from an objective perspective. I realized what a breakout performance Ellen Page gives as Hayley, at times she's as innocent as the 14 year old she's supposed to be and at other times she just switches to right-out cruel and devilish. I don't want to forget Patrick Wilson who also proves what a great (and unfortunately underappreciated) actor he is in the role of Jeff.
That's what actually makes the film, both Page and Wilson bumping off of each other, two actors practicing their craft. Hard Candy surely has a somewhat theatric and staged feel to it with only two main protagonists but director David Slade knows how to make the most of it. Forget his godforsaken The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, this is the movie that actually made him a hot property in Tinseltown.
Nonetheless, the movie has its flaws, the shock value wears thin (especially on second view) and some of the dialogue and character development is crude and unbelievable which takes your right out of the suspense that's building up. This is particularly bugging since Hard Candy has streaks of brilliance to it. The film's best when it keeps things simple and straight forward, every time things get more complex plotholes and other shortcomings are revealed so it seems to be purely a matter of an overwritten script.
If you haven't seen the film and don't know anything about it then Hard Candy surely is good for one watch but anything that goes beyond that will leave you asking for a more satisfying experience.
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