HARD CANDY

Went to see Hard Candy today. I won’t tell the story. It’s a great 2005 film (directed by David Slade and written by Brain Nelson), you should go see it if you haven’t yet.

For the first time, as far as I can remember, I was unable to guess how the film would end as it went on – this is a very good thing, I usually get bored at the cinema...

I am not approving popular justice, but after this it became even clearer to me that some laws are just not enough…
There’s really no moment that “makes” a persons life turn, there are not enough theories to explain some things – this film is about one of those things: people like Jeff (Patrick Wilson). Freud would probably call it a fixation that originates a perversion, still… I believe there’s really no excuse.
As for Hayley (Ellen Paige), she is truly every real mistreated child, a consciousness. With no individual identity, she could be, for instance, a stranger or your next door neighbour, she could be your little sister or she could be your daughter. In the film, she is a bit like Little Red Riding Hood, but this time Little Red Riding Hood eats the Wolf.
Anyway, don’t be surprised (or horrified) if you find yourself pitting Jeff a little bit in some scenes; in the end you’ll have a bigger comprehension of how deep, twisted and human this sort of stuff and people like Jeff can be. Still, in the end there will be no doubts, no excuses.