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Hayley and Jeff meet through an internet chat-room, get on like a house on fire and decide to meet in a coffee shop. But Jeff is a thirty-something man and Hayley is a fourteen year-old schoolgirl. Together they go back to his place, but after a couple of rounds of vodka things take a turn for the worse…for Jeff, that is, as he wakes to finds himself tied up and accused of killing another teenage girl that disappeared from the same coffee shop. Hayley is convinced of his guilt and will go to any lengths to get a confession - even resorting to some amateur surgery.
Former pop-promo director David Slade brings a sense of immediacy to this low-budget thriller. It unspools practically in real time, giving a feeling of palm-sweating tension to parts of the movie. He uses hand-held digital video that adds an almost documentary quality and allows the camera into spaces you wouldn't be able to fit traditional film apparatus into. So it moves like a silent third-person narrator. There are plenty of intimate close-ups and a sense of claustrophobia that comes during some of the most uncomfortable moments when you see the reaction instead of action (though a few squidgy gynaecological noises help to make everything crystal clear). Slade's background in music videos means he isn't afraid to experiment with what the camera can do; at times we see soporific slow-motion that lends a lyrical quality to the camerawork.
However, the director's origins also show themselves in his occasional goldfish attention span, which makes for a rather annoying series of flash edits as Jeff Succumbs to Hayley's drug-infused vodka and a very juddery, choppily edited chase sequence. This is an unnecessary device; the shift in pace from the sedentary indoor tension to outdoor hide-and-seek would have been enough. He incorporates tried and tested methods to add to the atmosphere, using blue filters that give Jeff's house an eerie feeling and whistling electrical background noise to set the nerves on edge.
Slade relies heavily on his actors, giving them room to breathe and allowing them to call the shots. They cope well with the task, though there are times when leading man Wilson is a tad too bland for the part. He may be initially charming and stick to his story under extreme duress, but he needs to be a little more predatory on occasion. But this is a minor glitch in an otherwise well-directed piece. The majority of the movie is tightly paced and tautly plotted but hasn't got quite enough tension to sustain it through the hour-and-three-quarters running time. Had it been ten to fifteen minutes shorter and the editing in the last third a touch sharper, this would have been a fantastic thriller. But with an ending that dribbles on a shade too long and one twist too many, it runs out of steam before the credits roll.
Television writer Brian Nelson's sharp script shows a cultural awareness and a critical appreciation of the cinematic sucker punch. He plays with expectations from the very start, first showing Haylely as a naïve schoolgirl before her role as instigator becomes apparent. The result is an involving, morally ambiguous tale that plays as many mind-games with the audience as the characters. Who do you root for when you're not sure who the victim is? Is it the man taking prisoner in his own home, even if he really is a paedophile? Or is it the manipulative, vindictive, possibly deranged teenage girl, even if she is seeking truth and justice? That's the great thing about this film; there are no easy answers. The dialogue is deliciously spiky, crediting Hayley with far more intelligence and nous than most writers can bear to give to a teenager. She's savvy, street-smart and far more cunning than her opponent, though she's not above taunting her prey. As far as Jeff goes, his agenda is clear throughout but Nelson gives him sufficient charm to convince as an attractive proposition to underage girls. The pacing is steady but insistent, keeping things suspenseful throughout most of the movie. The plotting however loses its way towards the closing minutes in a predictable nod to recent convention by throwing in another twist. But overall it is an above-average script.
Ellen Page gives a phenomenal performance as Hayley, nailing both versions of the character; the giddy schoolgirl willing to put herself in danger for kicks and the vindictive, manipulative, downright dangerous teenage vigilante. She can turn from one to the other on a dime showing a frightening versatility and immense cunning. Her clean-cut girl-next-door looks are totally at odds with her cold nature and that's what makes the character such a frightening proposition. She does cold and calculating especially well and hopefully this signals the start of a fulfilling career for Miss Page.
Former Broadway song-and-dance man Patrick Wilson seems an odd choice to play a potential paedophile. But that's only because Hollywood usually paints these characters in such a clear-cut manner. If paedophiles were that easy to spot, we'd all know who to avoid. So the square-jawed looks and apparent charm are a handy double-bluff. Occasional hints of impropriety are all you see and it's easy to empathise with the character throughout much of the movie, but when things take a darker turn, Wilson doesn't over-egg the pudding, giving more of a morally ambiguous turn than you might expect.
The original music by Harry Escott and Molly Nyman is mainly notable for its absence. Director Slade has realise that in such an actor-centric picture there is little need for oodles of incidental music. What is there is simple and to the point, used only when absolutely necessary to add atmosphere. So we get solitary piano motifs backed by synthesized flutes and ticking metronomes, echoing bass reverb or synthesized strings. There's no soundtrack to speak of, only incidental use of faceless loud electronic dance music or splashes of Goldfrapp. So what is there sticks in your mind.
"Hard Candy" has been tagged by many as the most controversial thriller of the year. Though I wouldn't go so far as to place it among the top flight of thrillers, it is certainly intriguing. It turns the tables on the viewers and characters, teasing out a virtuoso performance from Ellen Page that should kickstart her movie career. However, the final few minutes are a tad anti-climactic and the film could have done with a firmer hand in the editing. With a few tweaks here and there it could have been a great film. As it stands it is merely a good one - but that's no bad thing.
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Aug 26th, 2006
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