Hard Candy
Plot: Hayley, an intelligent 14 year-old girl has been chatting to Jeff, a 32 year-old photographer, on the Internet. After they agree to meet, she they end up going to his apartment where he offers her a drink and agrees to photograph her. However it is Jeff that ends up drugged and tied up, and Hayley turns out to be not as naïve as first imagined.
My Thoughts: This is a fantastic Psychological thriller. It is well acted by the two main players (Patrick Wilson and Ellen Page)- in fact there are only three other characters in it and they make very brief appearances. The film starts with the Internet chat and gives you insight into how easy it is for Paedophiles to make connections to vulnerable girls. In the café where they meet, you get the sense that Hayley is vulnerable and Jeff is utterly charming, but is manipulating the meeting so that Hayley goes with him to his apartment. And there is a flash of menace as the camera pans to the poster of missing girl, Donna. The majority of the film is set in Jeff’s apartment and when Hayley mixes them both a drink, it is obvious that she is not as innocent as first imagined. Jeff is drugged and wakes up tied to a chair, and then we find out just how cunning and well-planned Hayley has been. She is on a vigilante mission and is out for revenge. The scenes that follow are intense and sometimes difficult to watch (especially when Hayley begins the castration- so it’s time to cross your legs guys!) with the roles of Hunter and Hunted changing in true thriller style.
The one thing I really loved about this film is the ambiguity of the motives. The writers didn’t end up giving Hayley some weak, unbelievable motive as to why she is torturing Jeff- just that she is getting revenge for ‘every young girl he filmed, raped and murdered’ and even in Jeff’s character you are never quite sure whether he was guilty of Donna’s disappearance. If I had one criticism, it would be the use of the character Janelle in the conclusion of the film.
On the whole the writers have devised a clever and tense thriller based on a controversial subject. It may be difficult to watch at times but it never gets bloody or gory.
Best bits: The clever castration scene.
Score 9/10