Controversial Hard Candy Psychologically Grisly

     Given the subject matter, it is tempting to say, "Stop. Don’t do that to yourself," to anyone thinking about seeing Hard Candy. After all, the motion picture features a few scenes that are bound to make just about any male squirm uncontrollably. Yet, the basic construction of the independent movie is dialogue. Without a screenplay filled with effectively engaging dialogue, Hard Candy would be nothing more than a controversial horror flick. Instead, it works on several different tiers of art and entertainment.

     Hard Candy begins with an instant messaging conversation on a computer between Thonggrrrrrl14 and Lensman319. Soon, we meet these two main characters (actually, aside from a few very brief appearances by minor characters, these are the only two characters): Jeff, a 32-year-old photographer played by Patrick Wilson and Hayley, a 14-year-old honor student played by Ellen Page. Jeff and Hayley have been getting to know each other via the Internet and now they are finally meeting in person at a diner. Jeff mentions a particular song that he has by one of Hayley’s favorite musical artists and she agrees to accompany him to his apartment to copy the song.

     Once at the apartment, Hayley takes notice of Jeff’s walls which are decorated with samples of his work – photographs of half-naked, underage girls. Jeff mixes screwdrivers for the two of them but Hayley refuses, referencing, "They teach us in school that at a man’s house we should never drink anything we haven’t mixed ourselves." If Jeff were an intelligent man, he would take similar advice but, instead, Jeff allows Hayley to mix the drinks. Soon, Jeff collapses to the floor and loses consciousness. When Jeff comes to, he is tied to a chair and a sinister Hayley stands before him. The possible pedophile finds himself at the mercy of what would have been his next victim.

     The movie makes use of several metaphors that represent the complicated relationship between predator and prey. For example, when Jeff first meets Hayley, she is wearing a hooded red sweatshirt similar to that of Red Riding Hood. Red… er… Hayley meets the wolf, Jeff, and instead of falling for his disguise as a charming, well-behaved gentleman, she turns the tables on him before he can do her any harm. The only thing more disturbing than a 32-year-old man preying on a 14-year-old girl is the idea of said girl hunting said man. It is made rather clear that the wolf was really Hayley all along.

     The verity that Hard Candy is really just an extended dialogue between two people may be a drawback for some moviegoers, but the film couldn’t be any more compelling because of it. Rather than being mere characters, Jeff and Hayley are symbols and their discourse represents the complex nature of their affiliation. The power constantly changes hands throughout the running time (which, by the way, is a bit longer than it needs to be – the only true weakness of the flick) and it can be successfully argued that there is no concrete villain or hero here.

     In fact, of the many questions Hard Candy leaves unanswered, the extent of both of the characters’ sins is the vaguest. We don’t know who either of these people really are or what they are ultimately capable of due to certain events which I believe are best discovered by the individual moviegoer. Allegations are made but the film ends with very few revelations. Hence, the cause is not nearly as significant as the effect in Hard Candy. A detail that cannot be disputed, though, is the way in which Hard Candy is psychologically grisly.

     Yes, the temptation of warning folks about Hard Candy is overwhelming. "Stop. Don’t do that to yourself." Then again, those that heed said advice would be missing one of the best movies of 2006.