Hard Candy (2005) Movie Review, Trailer and Poster

USA 2005
Director: David Slade
Cast: Ellen Page, Patrick Wilson, Sandra Oh, Jennifer Holmes, Gilbert John
Rating: R
Release Date: January 2005
Running Time: 1 hour 44 minutes

The Movie Review

Honestly, Hard Candy made me Awestruck...This movie..., truly is a masterpiece of Idea, an achievement of the power of simplicity.

Jeff Kohlver is a 30-something photographer who is fond of taking pictures of half-naked underage girls, assumed that he is a pedophile. He chats with an innocent 14-year old Hayley Stark over the internet and the two agree to meet for the very first time at a local cafe Nighthawks. Jeff (Patrick Wilson) then takes Hayley to his house but kindly offering Hayley (Ellen Page) to call her sister first just to let her sister know where she will be, but Hayley refuses it. As they are in Jeff's house, he shows Hayley around the house and makes Hayley amazed at Jeff's works.


HARD CANDY
Storyline:
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They get along very well and Hayley makes them some booze, soon after Hayley gets wild and orders Jeff to take pictures of her while she's stripping. Jeff grabs his camera and begins to do it, but he feels extremely dizzy and finally passes out. Awaken, Jeff finds himself tied-up on a computer chair and worriedly questioning Hayley for what's going on. Jeff Kohlver is about to find out that Hayley may not be the typical innocent-underage-victim girl that he thinks.

Let me break it down to you. Hard Candy was produced with minimum cast (only five actors), minimum soundtrack, no CGI and minimum budget for only $ 1 million! But the storyline is absolutely great, the performance of the cast especially Ellen Page is terrific (she is one highly talented actress), the ambient sounds utilized are intense. You could hear clearly the sound of deep breathing and desperate screaming filled up with shocking dialogue.

Moreover what I also admire is the color management of the film combined with the camera shooting angles. The color tones of Hayley and Jeffrey's skins changed according to the mood, and the camera just point to the perfect angles that I find rarely used, those combined is not only a proof of intellectuality but also a deadly combination to preserve the pace of terror.

The message it conveys is deep and truly meaningful, it's kilometers away from cheesy. Terror and vengeance come from unlikely person hopefully would make everybody think first before they act, and that there are consequences for what we have done. Consequences that sometimes appear in a sweet figure but possess agonizing plans for the sinners. I do hope there will be more movies like this. David Slade and Brian Nelson, Congrats...

I don't know what to say anymore to give Hard Candy more acclamations. I just want to say a movie like Hard Candy sure makes my job as a movie reviewer truly a Bless...

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