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Back Shelf Beauties
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Hard Candy We've all heard and read the increasingly frequent stories of young teens being pursued by sick adults on web sites, instant messaging and chat rooms. It's a frightening subject that makes parents squirm in their seats as they read about it, and keeps them up at night when they hear Junior or Sis typing away at the keyboard. However, just when you think Hard Candy might be some sort of after school special with all sorts of warnings to kids to make sure they don't end up like our poor victim, the movie takes a much more interesting, and rousing turn. Ellen Page stars as Hayley - an overly precocious and inquisitive 14-year old girl carrying on a flirtatious online relationship with a 32-year old photographer, Jeff (Patrick Wilson). After meeting at a local coffee shop, the two decide to head off to Jeff's secluded home in the hills. Little does he know that he is not the predator, but the prey. What has Jeff done to deserve this? Is he guilty? Can Hayley follow through on her vengeful and violent plan? Hard Candy is one of the year's first big surprises because of young Ellen Page - an actress who will have her pick of movie roles after everyone sees how amazing and captivating she is in this film. She brings a shocking intensity to this role that makes her one of the few actors out there who could get into a staredown with Pacino or DeNiro and live to tell about it. Page dominates the screen as she gives Hayley a frightening determination and focus, yet, also finds a few moments to make us wonder if the young lady is willing to go as far as she has planned to punish this man, who might not even be deserving of such treatment. Page makes Hayley one of the strongest characters you will see on screen all year, but she also knows when to show just enough vulnerability to remind us the character is a young girl with fear and distaste for violence. This touch makes it more realistic, and gives the audience a reason to fear for our hero, and wonder what is the truth, and what lies are being fed to her by Jeff. With a lesser co-star, Page would have been dancing with herself, but Wilson makes it a tango worth watching. Taking his character from charmer to frightened for his life to calculating and back, Wilson makes the terror come to life, and shows us the possibly evil side lying within Jeff. Much like Page, he is ambiguous enough to keep the audience wondering if he is a horrible pedophile, or a guy mistaken for something else, which makes the film hundreds of times more compelling and tense. Writer Brian Nelson and director David Slade give us a couple instances where Jeff could have gotten himself out of the jam, and Hayley's plan feels a bit too well planned out and executed to be realistic, but those are petty criticisms. Hard Candy will have you glued to your seat and hoping everything turns out the way it should. 4 Waffles (Out Of 4) Copyright 2006 - WaffleMovies.com
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