Hard Candy Movie Review

Hard Candy (2005)

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Written by: Brian Nelson
Directed by: David Slade
Starring: Patrick Wilson, Ellen Page, Sandra Oh
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
A teenage girl invades a man's home to expose him as a sex offender.

Verdict
Part mystery, part horror, and creepy on multiple levels. A teen girl tortures a man she thinks is a sex offender. Is he? The movie is full of suspense but ultimately shallow with underdeveloped characters.
Skip it.

Review
This is weird from the start. A fourteen year old girl, Hayley (Ellen Page) is on a date with a much older guy, Jeff (Patrick Wilson). They flirt back and forth as I thought, this can't be happening. Jeff even tells her, "I'm going to have to wait four years for you."
They are both leading each other on, but for very different reasons. Hayley thinks Jeff is a predator and is seeking vigilante justice. Jeff is definitely a predator, but we haven't seen him commit any crimes. Regardless, he isn't a good guy.

This is small budget but tense. Jeff is held captive in his own home by Hayley. He begs, pleads, threatens, and even recounts stories from his past to convince her to untie him. She refuses. She finds evidence in his safe that she states confirms he committed a crime. We never see it.

Hard Candy - Unsettling and partially terrifying.

The question the film asks, is it okay to torture a suspected criminal even if we haven't seen them commit a crime. We have to take it on Hayley's word that Jeff is a criminal, though we do know he is a predator even if he hasn't acted on his desires. Is that enough to warrant psychological and physical torture? It's safe to assume he's guilty, but the movie makes a point to never make his guilt explicit.

Patrick Wilson does a great job as Jeff, playing a guy that seems nice, but you want to hate. His range of emotions feel authentic as his torture progresses. Hayley is a mystery. I assumed she had to have been assaulted, but we never find out. She provides Jeff with a choice. She can dispose of the incriminate evidence or turn it over to the police. What Jeff has to do to ensure the disposal is anything but easy.