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Title: Hard Candy (2005)
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| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Patrick Wilson | ... | Jeff Kohlver | |
| Ellen Page | ... | Hayley Stark | |
| Sandra Oh | ... | Judy Tokuda | |
| Odessa Rae | ... | Janelle Rogers (as Jennifer Holmes) | |
| G.J. Echternkamp | ... | Nighthawks Clerk (as Gilbert John) | |
After having online chat room chats for three weeks, "Thonggrrrl14" convinces "Lensman319" to meet in person in a public place, they being up front that they are a fourteen year old girl and thirty-two year old man respectively. They are indeed precocious fourteen year old Hayley Stark and thirty-two year old photographer Jeff Kohlver. Their interactions, including their meeting, are laced with indirect sexual innuendo, most specifically on Hayley's part, although Jeff is clear also in an indirect manner that he does not have sex with minors. Regardless, Hayley is further able to convince Jeff to continue their face-to-face at his place. There, both Hayley and Jeff's true intentions come to light, their meeting which was no accident on either side, and the intentions which may be incompatible and have serious and deadly consequences. Written by Huggo
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There is something wrong with Hard Candy.
The acting was solid, the direction was intelligent, the script was intense, and the topic is controversial. All these elements, however, didn't quite converge to something that was coherent and compelling. It lacks the premise, credibility, and balance that any good film should process. This may be a result of difference of expectations that originate from the actors, the director, the writer and the audience.
Let's start with us, the viewers. Despite the topic, I believe "Hard Candy" is simply a film that entails a two-hour power struggle between two individuals. Pedophilia set the plot in motion, but did not tightly define the roles, which were purposely left ambiguous from beginning to end. No one knows if Jeff is really a child molester, and Hayley may either be a vigilante or a psychopath. The shift in physical and psychological domination between the two should have been our interest. Instead, our judgment on the characters were tainted, either as a result of the controversial topic, or by the Liongate marketing department. So, when the film started, we already charged Jeff guilty of pedophilia.
This could have been compensated with a strong screenplay. However, Nelson managed to ignore natural and reasonable character development in the script. He did so mostly to strengthen Hayley's character. In the end, Hayley became the preacher, and Jeff the violated alter boy. Hayley's lines consisted mostly of monologues on quoting national statistics and degradation of social morals. Jeff, on the other hand, was only allowed to utter incomprehensible verbal jabs when Hailey takes a break from one of her soliloquies, provided that he wasn't on a gag. Maybe working with such a controversial topic, one has to play the party line to what is politically correct. Nelson really wanted the audience to be on Hayley's side, regardless how sinister her character is, but this does not justify a totally lob-sided screenplay.
And the acting amplified the imbalance of the roles. Page and Wilson are no stranger to acting. I think their performance stand very well on their own, especially considering how little Wilson has to work with in his portrayal of Jeff. The disparity between the two characters made their efforts futile in salvaging the script. Page, convicted and energetic, dominated every scene in the film, whether she was in or not. On the other hand, Wilson, being tied up and gagged for most of the film, was reduced to acting scared. Sandra Oh's brief appearance was a reminder how contrived the whole film has become.
Finally, there was the direction. Spade's background in directing commercials clearly showed. Most of the scenes are static, and transitions were limited to fade-in, fade-out, and panning across a black wall. He also had the propensity of using bright color everywhere. He certainly knows how to capture my attention for 15 seconds, but I felt comfortable after prolonged exposure. To his credit, he had made the best out of what he had to work with, namely, a lob-sided plot line, a minimal head count, and a confined space.
In summary, Hard Candy started with a good premise, good casting, good direction and a keen audience. Page and Spade could chalk one up for this film, but the film itself has failed to become bigger than the sum of its parts.