IMDb user comments for
Hard Candy (2005)

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163 out of 202 people found the following comment useful :-
Great acting and film making!, 12 May 2005

Author: Luckie Starr ([email protected]) from Los Angeles, CA

I was lucky enough to be in one of the first test audiences for this film in Los Angeles. Knowing nothing about the film except that it's being described as suspense/horror, and stars Patrick Wilson and a 14 year old girl, I went in expecting another bad to mediocre slash film. I couldn't have been more wrong!

Hard Candy is an intense psychological drama, with incredible performances by both Ellen Page and Patrick Wilson. The two actors are practically the only two people with lines in the film, aside from some brief appearances by Sandra Oh and Jennifer Holmes. Thusfar I have only seen Wilson in The Alamo and Phantom of the Opera, but I was blown away with how he handled this performance. The slow, suspenseful film is set mainly in the Los Angeles home of photographer Jeff, a 32 year old man whom Hayley, a mature 14 year old girl who met him online, suspects to be a pedophile. The pacing was steady, and phenomenal - after a brief exposition we get into the real suspense about 20 minutes into the film, and it doesn't let up from there. The cinematography and camera work went excellently with the film. Rather than being extremely gory, the adult themes of the film lead to a more psychological creepiness. There are also questions that remain unanswered until the end of the film, when everything is wrapped up nicely - leaving you puzzled to the true identities and motives of the characters throughout most of the duration.

Horror films are not my cup of tea, but psychological drama is. An early fall release date has been rumored, and I can only hope this movie doesn't get lost in the shuffle between summer blockbusters and Oscar season. I also hope Lion's Gate markets this film for what it is, and doesn't try to aim for fans of slash, or a teen crowd.

152 out of 198 people found the following comment useful :-
Excellent movie, but be aware it may be disturbing by the subject of it., 18 October 2005

Author: ekiza23 ([email protected]) from Barcelona, Spain

This is a film about a girl of 14 years old and a 32 years old guy. It is a movie about Hayley (more than excellent Ellen Page) and Jeff, about pedophilia and about how a pedophile must feel. Or maybe it is only a history of vengeance. You won't know until the end of the film. It sure is a difficult subject for a movie, but the script is excellently profiled in the psychological horror and does not turn to be obscene or anything than can visually or verbally hurt the sensibility of anyone. It is more like disturbing to hear a teenage girl speak how she does, and it is fascinating how your feelings will go from one character to the other during the movie until you realize that no matter what the end is, everyone is guilty of something and it is not to us, humans, to decide what bad actions can be justified by other bad actions.

Try on it, and be open-minded.

Sorry about any orthographic mistake, I'm not used to English writing.

106 out of 135 people found the following comment useful :-
"Hard Candy" is a powerful and disturbing look at people we meet on the Internet., 9 April 2006

Author: MovieManMenzel from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

"Hard Candy" is about a teenage girl named Hayley (Ellen Page) who likes to surf the web and explore internet dating like most normal teenagers. The film opens up with an instant message chat between Hayley and a much older guy named Jeff (Patrick Wilson). Jeff and Hayley plan to meet up later that day, where their meeting turns into an unexpected series of events. A very intense psychological drama ensues�

I just got back from an advanced screening of "Hard Candy" at the Philadelphia Film Festival. And let me be the first to say, this movie was remarkable. The idea behind this film is so powerful and disturbing at the same time. This movie focuses on two people, Hayley who is a 14 year old girl and a 30 something pedophile named Jeff. A movie's subject matter is something that is a serious issue in the world and I think this movie takes the idea of it to a new and unique level.

During this film, I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. You watch with amazement as this little teenage girl who seems so innocent really controls the entire situation. She is smart and has planned everything and anything and the film flows together so nicely. Even though Hayley isn't an overly likable character, I was cheering her on throughout the whole film. She was such an intelligent and wicked character who seemed to be just sickened by pedophiles.

Another thing which was very interesting about this film was that it actually relied more on the facial expressions and dialog then on actual images. There is one part in the film which is extremely disturbing and is something I never seen in a film before. The scene involves Hayley doing an operation to say it in an inexplicit way. During that scene, we never see what's happening but it was spine tingling just seeing the emotions and listening to the dialog of the characters. A powerful scene which was so intense and disturbing I may never forget it.

Lastly, I liked how even though the film was a very powerful drama, the script had some light humor in it as well. The line about Roman Polanski was a classic as well as the whole "I'm an honor roll student" line. The film is so serious at times, it was nice to get a chuckle here and there to allow audiences to take a breather from being pinned to their seats with suspense.

Like I previously stated there are only two real characters in this movie those being Hayley and Jeff. Ellen Page does an incredible job and delivers a mind-blowing performance. Her character is both demented and likable. Patrick Wilson was great as well. He gave a very interesting and powerful performance as a pedophile who didn't want to admit he had a problem. His emotions during this film were incredible and extremely realistic.

"Hard Candy" was directed by first time filmmaker David Slade. I feel this is a breathtaking and powerful first film about an uneasy subject matter that so few talk about. His unique craft of capturing not only the characters emotions and anger but also the unique camera angles is remarkable. Also the unique scenes of darkness and colors were brilliant. I like the fact that the director didn't make the characters out to be fictional characters but someone who we can meet on a daily basis.

The screenplay was written by Brian Nelson who is also a first time screenwriter for a feature film. I normally don't review how I feel about the screenplay but this one was so unique and daring that I feel I have to. The way the script develops the characters is amazing and how the film actually has a real ending instead of one of those cop-out choose your own ending films that so many people are using nowadays. What the film does is leaves everything at the end open to discussion. Why did Hayley do what she did? Who is Hayley really and so forth. It's an incredible screenplay that Mr. Nelson should be extremely proud of.

Bottom Line: "Hard Candy" was such an amazing film with powerful, intense scenes and great acting. The script is extremely fresh and takes the idea of a pedophile film to a new level. This film allows its audience to think and also be shocked by what's going on during the film. It's not a movie for those who like light-hearted films or films that are completely resolved in the end. Hard Candy is really one of those mind f*ck films that when you leave the theater you just want to talk about what just happened. It's a remarkable film that will stay with me for many weeks to come.

MovieManMenzel's final rating for "Hard Candy" is a 9/10. A powerful yet disturbing film that touches on a subject matter that is constantly being ignored in our world but be warned this film is definitely not for the weak hearted crowd.

113 out of 152 people found the following comment useful :-
Wow, 31 January 2006

Author: johno-21 from United States

I saw this at a late night screening at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and of the 35 films I saw there I would rank this #4. for about the first 10 minutes I didn't know if I was going to like it or where it was going to go but man once this roller-coaster starts moving it's a psychological thriller. Great stylized look to this film too. The acting and story is intense and you can't avert your eyes from the screen even though there are times where you think you might have to. I like movies that have the feel of a stage play and the emotional volleyball between the two principal actors is amazing. A little far-fetched but so what. This is a good movie. I give it a 8.5 out of a possible 10 and would recommend this film.

77 out of 119 people found the following comment useful :-
Absolutely fantastic!, 12 April 2006

Author: sleepysnail from United States

I saw this film last night at a free showing and was completely blown away. I didn't expect it to be anything more than a clich�d murder story. How wrong I was! The story moves along at a gripping pace, the cinematography is beautiful (simple and complex simultaneously. A perfect balance.) The acting is very believable. I think anyone would enjoy this film, as the audience I saw it with was a mixture of people from a number of different socioeconomic backgrounds and everyone seemed to like what they saw. The only aspect of the film that worries me is that the main character is going to be viewed as a sort of embodiment of an angry, man hating feminist, rather than a girl who is on a mission to erase the horrors of pedophilia. The people I saw it with agreed that they were nervous that the film will only reinforce cultural attitudes about feminist as man hating, psycho bitches, which is simply a generalization. But remove that possible attitude towards the film and it is quite good. I really enjoyed it. Thumbs up.

54 out of 74 people found the following comment useful :-
Hard Candy is an Edge-of-Your-Seat Must!, 26 March 2005
Author: kpeterson32-1 from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Any fan of Patrick Wilson simply MUST see the film Hard Candy. And I'm not talking about those of you that are fans of his portrayal of Raoul in the Phantom of the Opera. I'm talking to the true fans out there that have seen and loved Angels in America, the Alamo, etc, and can appreciate the diversity and depth he displays with each role.

This film is a very difficult one. I won't lie. You all know what the basic story is about, and it's hard to imagine how any actor that has barely a foot in the door of Hollywood would choose a film that is so controversial, and unnerving. The fact is that Hard Candy is well-written, and amazingly acted. The story isn't that difficult to believe, if you are willing to accept that a 14 year old girl can be so diabolical. Hayley, played to perfection by newcomer Ellen Page, is not an ordinary teenager, and she is anything but a victim in this film.

Without giving away anything important to the story, I will simply say that this disturbing nature of this film is purely psychological. You see nothing "inappropriate", and the conversations between Jeff and Hayley stay within the realm of decent.

The bottom line is that Hard Candy is a terrific film, that will make you think, and wonder, and ponder, and question, and discuss long after you leave the theater. I saw it in Park City two months ago, and I'm still questioning the outcome. To me, that is the mark of an exceptional film.

53 out of 76 people found the following comment useful :-
(Hard Candy) is extremely well acted, directed, edited and .. should really not be seen by anyone other than those in the mood for some intense, gut-wrenching horror., 15 April 2006

Author: ([email protected]) from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Haley (Page) is more than the average 14 year old. Sure, she likes all the pop bands that a teenage girl should, dresses to the role of a freshman in high school and all that, she is impressively well read, smart, and witty. She knows what she wants, and at this point in time, it is Jeff (Wilson), a 32 year old photographer who has befriended Haley after meeting online. The movie opens with Jeff and Haley deciding to meet up at a local coffee shop where they talk and decide that it's probably best if they drive to Jeff's place and get to know each other a little better. The movie at this point proves disturbing just because of the burning desire to grab this girl and scream "Don't do that" in her face... but as the movie continues, it becomes abundantly clear that Haley is the one in control the whole time.

I really don't want to give anything away other than my thoughts on the movie, ultimately... because if, and when you see this, it is best to go into this with as little spoiled as possible. The entire movie only features four people with speaking roles, and the two who are not Page and Wilson hardly have any screen time at that. Regardless, Haley and Jeff have some extremely fantastic exchanges of dialog, and the roles played by both are just short of perfection. Page plays the part of a teenage nymphomaniac superbly, and Wilson is without a doubt one of the most convincing pedophile turned victims in modern cinema. What I'm getting at, is that these are two roles that Hollywood has yet to mainstream.. at least on the screen together, successfully- until now.

This film is impressive. It is extremely well acted, directed, edited and .. should really not be seen by anyone other than those in the mood for some intense, gut-wrenching horror. It is at this moment where I am trying to sum up the film, however, and can not. There is no one real moment that sits on top of everything else, but rather the culmination of so many things coming together at once-- from the tone, to the actions delivered on film, this is one film that I am glad I saw, but would think twice before recommending it to anyone aside from those knowing what they're getting themselves into.

Bitter is the best way to describe it, really; Such a fantastically delivered film, but so horrendous in its subject matter and approach. It wasn't until the ride back that I realized the best way to put it into words, thinking back to the people walking out in the middle of the film, and the end when the audience didn't really know what to do but get up and evacuate the theatre as quickly as possible, that Hard Candy is/was the reason to see horror movies. You keep searching from one film to the next for that one movie that just.. messes with your head. Not necessarily the one that scares you, but the one that doesn't let you smile for the next two or three days... and that movie is Hard Candy. I know that there are already reviews saying that the characters are shallow, the plot is too edgy, what have you.. and I will tell you that if you like horror or stories that push the boundaries, this is your movie.

48 out of 67 people found the following comment useful :-
Amazing performances, 20 April 2006

Author: Luminelle212 from United States

I saw Hard Candy at the Angelika, in Tribeca New York and never have I been so shocked, surprised and utterly impressed with an acting performance. The storyline, though somewhat confusing was overpowered by the Oscar-winning performance given by Ellen Page, 14-year old Hayley. Though it could have wrapped up a little sooner (it was a bit longer than expected) I would highly recommend this to anyone who has buddies they talk to online, or anyone that generally enjoys suspenseful films. Not to be outdone by the young star, Patrick Wilson gave an excellent performance. The whole movie was a twisted roller coaster of not knowing who to believe. Whether young Hayley was telling the truth, or was she in fact just completely insane, you won't find out until the end, but either way, it was a knockout performance by both stars and a highly recommended film!

59 out of 89 people found the following comment useful :-
worth seeing, 12 October 2005

Author: ([email protected]) from United States

I just screened this film at LGF last night. I was quite intrigued for the first forty minutes. Then it all kind of fell apart for me. In it's best moments this film explores the complexities of vengeance and psychology. It tries to be clever by pulling a role reversal -- but this eventually wears thin and the dialog becomes didactic and contrived. I still think it is worth seeing for the strength of the leads alone. Patrick Wilson does a fine job as a "suspected" pedophile. He elicits both sympathy and disgust. Ellen Page as the young girl is absolutely fantastic. Her performance is brilliant and even frightening at times. She's good even when the script can't match her talent. I look forward to seeing her in many films to come. Finally a young actress who is more than just a pretty face -- I'm so tired of the Natalie Portmans, the Hillary Duffs, and the Jessica Albas of the world. Good luck with your career Ms. Page.

All in all, Hard Candy is worth seeing. Maybe I'm just a sucker for movies with tiny casts and realtime pacing. But there are some genuinely suspenseful moments in the film, although in the hands of lesser actors these scenes would disintegrate. And though I was annoyed by the contrivances and implausibilities of the script, I found myself the next day thinking about some of the issues raised therein.

At times Hard Candy reminded me of Polanski's Death and the Maiden, though H.C. is nowhere near as good. Ellen Page's Haley character is similar to Sigourney Weaver's character in the Polanski film. Both women are terrifying through the cold precision of their revenge. The problem with the Haley character is that she would have to be supernatural to accomplish the things she does in this film. And of course if she was supernatural, we'd have a completely different film on our hands -- High Plains Drifter.

66 out of 104 people found the following comment useful :-
See it. . . see it NOW!, 2 April 2006

Author: skippy_the_nazgul from Orlando, FL

I saw the trailer for Hard Candy when I went to see Hostel (which sucked, but we'll not get into that). I was immediately drawn to it. It's suppose to come out April 14th but it came through with the Central Florida Film Festival two weeks early. I could have waited and paid less and got a better seat, but oh my god, even with a crap view I was blown away.

The cinematography was masterful, the acting was spectacular, the dialogue was a little awkward in pints but never really faltered, and the plot! You would think a movie consisting of 2 characters in a house would have it moments of tediousness, but not at all. So many psychological thrills it will set your mind a boggling.

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