"There's that word again…girl."
The Flick
Ellen Page’s uncanny ability to make her viewing audience delightfully uncomfortable is why people love her. She’s quirky, cynical, adorable and completely unlike most young Hollywood starlets. Most people remember her breakout role in Juno, as the knocked up teen just waiting for life to be normal again. Fans of this site likely recognize her as the awesome Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat in the final film of the X-Men trilogy. However, in her first “adult” role here (done at just age 18) in Hard Candy, Page plays a character who becomes shockingly dark very quickly. Baiting an older man into an online tryst and attempting to beat him at his own game is not something most young teens are interested in.
Hayley is a 14-year-old bookworm. Jeff (Patrick Wilson – Phantom of the Opera, Watchmen) is a 32-year-old photographer. Meeting in a chat room, they quickly develop a deeper relationship online. After some steamy and suggestive conversation, Hayley suggests they meet and hook up. Jeff, apparently a supreme pervert, agrees and they come face-to-face in a coffee shop. Hayley is charming in her awkwardness and Jeff encourages every shy smile, every hesitant flirtation. Major slimeball though he clearly is, I still find it hard to hate him.
You wonder throughout the whole movie who’s going to be the victor – is Hayley correct in her assumptions or is Jeff, screaming about his innocence adamantly the whole way through truly not to blame? He is corrupt, yes…but a murderer?
Audio/Video
With a 1080 high def widescreen presentation, Lionsgate hands us another solid transfer. There is not a huge use of surround channels in this film, but the dialogue is sharp and clear and the popular primary colors seen throughout the film are quite vivid. As with recent Lionsgate reviews we’ve posted, the English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track doesn’t provide any room-rumbling bass, but then again, there shouldn’t be, really. This movie is effective in the quiet stillness it showcases.
Special Features and Packaging
Hard Candy comes as a single disc Blu-ray in a recycled case with the following extras:
* Commentary with Director David Slade and Writer Brian Nelson
* Commentary with actors Patrick Wilson and Ellen Page
* Creating “Hard Candy” documentary
* “Controversial Confection” featurette
* Deleted and Extended Scenes
* Theatrical Trailer
The Hard Candy documentary is almost an hour long and interviews producer David Higgins, writer/co-producer Brian Nelson and director David Slade and talks about not knowing how Hayley would turn out in the beginning, how they got funding for the film, how they cast the small amount of characters with interviews from Ellen Page and Patrick Wilson as well. If you enjoy knowing the history of films, this is a great insight.
“Controversial Confection” is more of the same: Nelson, Slade and Higgins talking more about the movie and where it fits in society and what they all believe the moral truly is. I found it fairly interesting – it’s worth a quick look.
The deleted scenes are here are left on the cutting room floor for a reason – they don’t offer much to the movie. Worth a look, but unnecessary in the film.
Overall
Hard Candy is a disturbing look at the world of online chatting and the possible repercussions that come from it. I don’t know how much mothers of teenaged girls would enjoy it – it may create an unnecessary paranoia. However, I think it’s an engaging film for just about any adult audience and a worthwhile addition to your Blu-ray collection.
ComicsOnline gives Hard Candy 4 out of 5 boxes of Girl Scout cookies.
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