Hard Candy Movie
| Resolution | Size | Download | ||
|
1920x816 | 8132.3 MiB | 1080p | |
|
1280x548 | 4476.45 MiB | 720p | |
|
720x300 | 1048.65 MiB | hidivx | |
|
624x260 | 592.67 MiB | divx | |
|
320x132 | 224.51 MiB | ipod | |
|
320x132 | 228.57 MiB | hpc | |
Storyline
TAGLINES
Strangers should Never Talk to Little Girl ...
For three weeks, 14-year-old Hayley Stark has been chatting on-line with 'Lensmaster319', a 32-year old fashion photographer, named Jeff. The two agree to meet at a coffee shop called Nighthawks. They hit it off, despite the massive age difference. Hayley appears to flirt with Jeff, and Jeff generally restrains himself, even admitting that he must wait 4-years until he can be with her. But his reservations are apparently not enough to decline when Hayley all but invites herself over to his house. Once at the house, manipulation becomes the name of the game, and the pedophile seems to be on the non-traditional side of it.
| Patrick Wilson | Jeff Kohlver |
| Ellen Page | Hayley Stark |
| Sandra Oh | Judy Tokuda |
| Odessa Rae | Janelle Rogers |
| Gilbert John | Nighthawks Clerk |
| Cori Bright | Girl in Coffee Shop |
| Erin Kraft | Donna Mauer |
| David Slade |
7.10 out of 10 (14176 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Everyone should see this.
posted on 24 Aug 2009The BEST movie yet about this particular subject. Parents see this and talk with your daughters. Even though I am leveling with the writer I think they should kill pedophiles! I don't think it's a good idea to let little girls do the job, don't you think? SO eyes up parents, talk with your children, do not push, yell, deny, talk old times never(it's a different world now..), I'm from Finland and we have quite a problem with youth drinking. We have had situations like in the movie but quite a few haven't ended well. I'm saying this is a worldwide phenomenon, so everyone show this movie to everyone you know and spread the word! About the movie the leading girl does a great job as does the guy who's a victim!
Love it!
posted on 24 Aug 2009F'king incredible - loved it, one you can only watch once but that stays with you for years. Well worth a watch if you can face it - its heavy material and not for the faint hearted or weak stomached or people who cant hack intellect :) It starts very simply and goes one way then bam it flips over and the defence attacks, its chilling for the most part because it is so unpredictable. It is hard to see what is bullshit and what is not. Then there are some strange twists which keep the suspense going.When the end finally arrived I was not quite sure who was worse. It keeps you thinking and drawing your own conclusions - you'll need an hours break after watching it to let your mind settle.All in all, it is an amazing film and well worth every minute :)
Full of itself, major plot confusion, poor acting
posted on 22 Aug 2009This film perfectly typifies the latest trend in Hollywood of brains winning out over heart. The writers of "Hard Candy" seem too concerned with framing witticisms and intelligent sarcasm for Ellen Page's character to pay any attention to the story's realism, it's true emotional and spiritual appeal. Realism in cinema is generated by a combination of factors, the foremost of which, most feel, is acting. Sadly, the steady stream of clever, scathing one liners delivered in a sadistic whisper by Page gets very old very quickly, due both to the over the top script, and her immature style. People in the theater were laughing at her ridiculous character when the director intended them to be spellbound. Combine the poor personalities of the film with the cheap photographic gimmicks (I was squinting at all the extreme close-ups) and you have an effort that seems more like a self indulgent horror flick than a genuine psychological thriller. Hayley Stark should have put more effort into expressing moral outrage at the horrible crime of child exploitation than delivering her fanciful rhetoric. Also, my biggest gripe: Was the man guilty or not? Viewers have no idea. One out of ten stars for this one.
worth watching
posted on 22 Aug 2009"Hard Candy" was an interesting look at the relationship between a pedophile and his victim. I liked watching the answer to the the question....what if the predator becomes the prey? Not to mention the acting was amazing, Ellen Page gave quite a thrilling performance. I think this movie is definitely worth watching; there is just the right amount of suspense. It seems as if there is a fascination with the nature of pedophiles right now, even "Dateline" has come out with a special called "To catch a predator." The movie questions the character of both the troubled lonely photographer and the intelligent charismatic young girl. "Hard Candy" is a new take on the game cat and mouse.
This is a Horror movie
posted on 22 Aug 2009This isn't a movie, this is a massacre with a plenty of violent scenes made by movie camera. Very stupid, absolutely awful. This film must have HORROR in its genre! It's too bad..... camera is OK, actors too... With this atmosphere, movie could succeed and become a cult one... It can only be great movie for those who liked "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", but for the rest of people this movie is just a teenage funny stuff. Everything that happened in this movie was about the teen girl who cuts the balls of a pedophile without anesthesia. And that's all. The bloody scenes and morbidness are not the things that make movie become good.
Captivated & Thought Provoking
posted on 22 Aug 2009In the last few weeks I've visited the video store about 5 or 6 times and 2 or 3 of those times I've left without a film (mainly because i've either seen everything or everything seems sh**e. I went for a drink the other night and my friend Ant told me about this film called 'Hard Candy'. I told him that i'd seen it at the store but it didn't look like my kind of film. He went on to explain that it revolved around paedophilia. "Well i definitely don't want to see it now then Ant" i replied. "trust me" he said. "It's good and it'll get you thinking". The next day, after feeling a bit tired and a little drunk throughout the morning, i ventured down to the video store after work and my choice was either 'The Break-Up' or 'Hard Candy'. I thought why not get my friends recommendation, so i did. So here is my thoughts and theory on 'Hard Candy' Thought provoking, mentally stimulating, eye opening, cringing, twisting and turning are just some of the things that pop in to my mind....throughout the film and proceeding it. This film is simplistic in the way that it features 2 main characters and 1 set. However the dialogue is strong and effective, driving the film, producing the hook that keeps you watching. The acting is superb and the main question would be whether it is down to the young girl as to how good the film came across. Fortunately it all came together and we got a stimulating film. So what has the film got? Well it's got a modern 21st century look on one of the many problems we have in this world. Peodofilia is wrong and i think that this film did enough to project this. It was brilliant and cringing the way that she got her revenge for all people that have suffered. Cutting off his balls and getting him to hang himself is something that we all deep down wish all bad people in the world would do themselves. I think that this is an emotively deep and effecting film, carefully captured to give an entertaining perspective on our modern world. Whats sad is that our modern world, modern technology, is being used to amplify the bad things in our world. Internet chat rooms used by paedophiles could suggest the old theory that technology will eventually bite back at us. Although i will never watch this film again, it was a good tale and could be used as a story structure for many other problems in this world. I'd like to make a film about getting our own back on cold blooded murderers, rapists, thieves, and anyone else that rewinds all the good work that good people put in to our world.
Well acted thriller but wildly implausible
posted on 20 Aug 2009I couldn't really buy into the premise of this film. Reminded me a little of 8MM , another tale of a shocking sexual underworld created from a middle class world view. The interplay between the two leads was impressive and Ellen Page created a truly scary Annie Wilkes (Misery) obsessiveness. The camera-work drifting across the room using the photographers screen as a fade in and out was a good touch and the 'operation' had me squirming on my sofa. There may have been many people watching who thought this type of vigilante action was liberating, but the relationship between victim and perpetrator was always complex and for that reason alone it took this film into the category of 'should see'
Worst film of the year
posted on 18 Aug 2009This tasteless and smug "psychological thriller" has been the subject of many rave reviews by critics who have little knowledge of what film actually is. Hard Candy thinks its daring and contemporary with its slick MTV visuals, but it resembles an advert more than a film in its self-conscious stylised mis en scene. But Hard Candy doesn't want to be shallow. It wants to be intellectual. And what do you get? A "heroine" who is as morally reprehensible as her victim. A heroine who spouts references and smart talk beyond her years. This just doesn't wash. Hayley, if we can call her that, is not really a character; she is a just a mouthpiece for Brian Nelson's pretentious dialogue. Her self-satisfied talk is annoying and unconvincing and is part of the reason why Hard Candy is such an astonishing failure of a film – a fact supported by its dismal Box Office performance. Hayley is simply not a sympathetic character and neither is Jeff, and the film's penchant for ambiguity further clouds any sense of background and motive that might justify what is happening in this trashy, faux art-house film. The film also has no sense of irony and subtlety: Nelson could have made points about the hypocrisy of Hayley and the role-reversals she undertakes but that would have disrupted the smug dialogue.Hard Candy is also one of the most implausible films committed to celluloid. I am not convinced why Hayley did what she did; how far she planned everything to the last detail and what her motives were. The film barely explains why she did what she did, save the stilted dialogue at the end which further reinforces the film's desperation to be ambiguous. Even the brief appearance by Sandra Oh as the inquisitive neighbour is an embarrassment. Why didn't she ask about the blood on Hayley's forehead? The script is to busy being smart to gloss over such inconsistencies. The acting is also very annoying, especially Ellen Page, who was a bit one-dimensional in her role. Avoid this nasty, amoral little film.
'Torture porn' is a lazy label . . .
posted on 18 Aug 2009The infamous premise of Hard Candy is well known: a 14-year-old girl ensnares a sexual predator and proceeds, in the name of justice, to torture him physically and psychologically for his crimes. This premise has understandably rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, and has led a great number of professional critics to dismiss the film as exploitive pulp. But to condemn Hard Candy as nothing but "torture porn," I think, is to grossly oversimplify a difficult issue.Watching torture is unpleasant, yes, but Saving Private Ryan, a critically lauded film, is also unpleasant to watch. What, on a purely moral level, separates Saving Private Ryan from Hard Candy? What elevates one film to art, and reduces the other to exploitation? Many people would argue that "meaning" is what separates the two. But how, exactly, do you define "meaning"? Did Sin City (which also deals with torture and is infinitely more gruesome than Hard Candy) have a "meaning"? If not, why did most critics like that? Because the brutality was more stylized? If so, to what extent can stylization justify unpleasant subject matter? And if it can, does that mean stylization is equitable with art? What is art, anyway? I won't pretend that I have answers to all of these questions. But through them, I think I've proved that to dismiss Hard Candy as nothing but exploitation is intellectually lazy, and very probably hypocritical. Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle, in a particularly idiotic case of critical hypocrisy, calls Hard Candy a "wallow in ugliness" with "no point," while praising Sin City for its "entertainment value," despite noting directly in his review that it's a pointless exercise. Apparently a faked castration that occurs entirely off-screen is more "ugly" to him than a real one shown in graphic detail (also, curiously enough, performed on a pedophile). This isn't at all a condemnation of Sin City, mind you, but a condemnation of Mick LaSalle and the many other critics who engage in this kind of intellectual hypocrisy.Viewed objectively, without any particular moral basis, Hard Candy is a tautly directed, brilliantly acted, and generally effective psychological thriller unfortunately hampered with a contrived plot that is unable to find a satisfying conclusion. It is not a great film, but the gripping performances and crackling dialogue keep the enterprise from ever derailing entirely, and elevate what could have been a sensationalist attempt at rejuvenating the thriller genre into something memorable.Whether or not the film is morally wrong in its depiction of torture is up to each individual. I personally found that the viciously funny dialogue and extraordinary performances justified the subject matter, and while it is very possible that some people will disagree with this assessment, I can live with that. As long as they don't turn around and praise Sin City.
brilliant
posted on 18 Aug 2009i mostly wanted to see this movie because i immensely enjoyed Ellen Page in "Juno" just like everyone else in the world did. i had also really liked Patrick Wilson in last year's "Little Children." i can see how many people would not like this movie--it's not easy or comfortable to watch and is frequently awkward, and not in the cute or humorous sense. but it is nonetheless, an extremely well constructed and produced indie film.from the minimalistic cast to the use of color in the cinematography, this film is simply brilliant. it keeps you guessing, as the predator becomes the prey, and you wonder who will come out in the end. my heart was literally pounding through many scenes, my eyes wide-open, and sometimes holding my breath.i recommend this film for anyone who really likes to think when watching movies and enjoys a break from the Hollywood assembly line.
The other way around
posted on 12 Aug 2009The story is original and bold. We are used to movies about criminals and victims, but this time it is the other way around. The entire film moves around two characters: a 14 year-old and a photographer she met online. Might seem a bad start but actually it works very well. There is no need for other intervenients, those two catch your attention completely. The performances are outstanding. Sometimes you almost take the eyes off the screen because things get so intense (even though you never see anything explicit or very violent, but the descriptions and the sweat on their faces and clothes are more than enough) but you don't want to miss anything really. I wasn't sure of the ending until I saw it, there is much you can especulate about during the film. It is shocking, but it also alerts. I wouldn't tell children that use to chat on the net to go see it but their parents probably should. Definitely an unusual film. Congratulations to both actors and director.
great movie with real acting talents
posted on 08 Aug 2009Its been a long time since i ve seen a good movie...and i mean really good movie, where u watch every single movement and want more; when u hear every single word and try to keep that in mind...that was it.Hard Candy. Movie not for every one, cause even this time there were people in the cinema who laughed...i ve got nothing to say to such, but if u see how a 14 year old girl is going to castrate a 30something man...i do not find this funny...maybe i am the one, who doesn't see it...then sorry...i don't think one should know much before watching it, but i suggest that everybody who loves "serious" movies, where "hard" stories with amazing characters and lots of question afterwards...then this is the One!!!enjoy it and remember: "one should drink only self mixed drinks!"
Very intense.
posted on 08 Aug 2009In a pure indie film with very little music or special effects; just plenty of strong dialogue between two good actors and solid directing, Hard Candy makes its impact in more ways than one. Just from the opening scene, it is pretty obvious this movie is not going to be pretty or exciting to watch. After meeting in a local coffee shop, the two head off to his house and all the audience can think is of the possibility that he (Jeff) could seduce her (Hayley) and make this a typical seduction Hollywood story. However, this is not Hollywood but the indie world, and soon it is Jeff that is drugged and tied down and Hayley begins to intensely scrutinize him for possible offenses he may have committed. Certainly not for children, this is extremely disturbing material despite the film never crossing the line to show graphic violence or sexual conduct. Still, the suspension hold over you so incredibly tight, you can't possibly wait to see what happens next. Be sure to check this out, only do it alone.
Wow! What A Disturing Film!
posted on 08 Aug 2009I knew nothing about the film prior to seeing it. I expected another semi-psychological "thriller." What a surprise. It is brilliantly acted. Ellen Page is particularly amazing. In fact after seeing the film I googled her name to see how old she really is since she plays a 14 year girl (she's 19). The film and the characters are well developed, you are pulled into the film while being repulsed by it. It is not visually graphic but like films like Psycho, you are terrified and believe you are seeing more than you really are. The ending is a bit confusing, but otherwise a great film. Hey perhaps they'll make a sequel - something like Hard Candy meets Silence of the Lamb!
Tony Scott called and he wants his cinematography back
posted on 04 Aug 2009Precious few films open such a strong note as 'Hard Candy'. Words on a screen. A messenger of sorts. A 14-year-old girl is talking to a 32-year-old man, they flirt, and they decide to meet in a public place. When they hook up, it is a segment so harrowing and wrist-slashingly uncomfortable that it still stays with me. The looks, the awkward dialogue, the 32-year-old man with a quiet, calculating lethality about him; it all invests the film in an extremely uncomfortable atmosphere. The acting is fantastically crisp and layered and Ellen Page has a refreshing emotional transparency about her. When Jeff (that's the creepy man) shows Hayley (that's the little nymphet) his car, she is impressed. They head back to his place – a stylish, bachelor-pad that oozes affluence. Together they chat, drink, listen to music and exchange looks all the while maintaining a degree of creepiness. The twist is deftly wielded in the beginning of the story as Hayley turns from victim to predator in an elaborate attempt to expose Jeff as a pedophile. Disturbingly enough, she seems to enjoy it.Everything up to this point is golden; its opening scene is its goldmine. Then 'Hard Candy' completely falls apart, falling prey to 'style over substance' in its dizzying, choppy, intimate camera-work (did they kidnap Tony Scott's cinematographer?) and far worse, Ellen Page – who was so promising in the beginning – fatally tips over into overacting territory and loses her authenticity. Jeff is no longer a threatening character when you remove his glasses, strip him off that tense posture and strap him down to a chair. He becomes human—even humane, while Hayley becomes increasingly annoying. In the end, you hold a fine line between sympathy and disgust for her character.The aforementioned is undoubtedly all strategically placed in the film. It wants us to question whom is right and whom is wrong and to what extent you can go to expose someone. Yet this whole process becomes frightfully exhausting to watch, the acting becomes unbearable and neither of the characters truly interest you. It is talkative but without clear insight coming through its dialogue. It becomes an endless charade of torture and mind games that I believe only ever generated buzz because of its timely subject matter – internet pedophilia.6 out of 10
AMAZING The one word to describe this movie!
posted on 04 Aug 2009The acting was stupendous on both sides, it is very hard being realistic about bring unwillingly castrated and he made me feel as if it was actually happening. The appearance of Ellen just added to the movie, she looked like a extremely smart teenager and playing the role of a psychological twisted sort of horror movie where we don't know who is good and who is bad until the very end. A few parts (including the start) could have been done abit better, for the actual overall appeal of the movie is not as it seems, the cover makes you think low budget horror movie and so does the beginning, while it is actually a extremely smart and mind-twisting movie that requires THOUGHT! Bravo, glad to see some acting skills come from my city.
I was upset for most of this movie
posted on 25 Jul 2009If you haven't seen this film yet, stop reading this comment and go rent it. I'm going to get into major spoilers and it's the kind of movie you should know next to nothing about before seeing it. If you're an adult who can handle adult topics, because some adults can't, then I would definitely have to insist that you watch this ASAP. Now shoo.Okay from the beginning Hayley (played by Ellen Page) bothered me immensely. All I could think was 'who is this kid and WHAT is her deal?' She was just so grating I wanted to go into the film and strangle her myself. Really. I guess my problem was that I didn't think Jeff had done anything. Maybe it's because I'm a Patrick Wilson fan, but I just thought he was mildly pervy. She looked like a young woman who could easily pass for early 20s. She was intelligent beyond her years so I could see a slightly pervy guy getting caught in that kind of trap. And she was definitely trapping him. We find out later why, and I think it was hinted to in the very beginning, but I personally was still on Jeff's side at that point. And I've watched the special features so I know at least one of the filmmakers think people who did are sickos of some sort. But let me say this. I'm a 33 year old female. In my early 20s people thought I looked 12 if I didn't have make-up on. But as a teenager if I wore makeup I looked as old as I am now. So I personally have a difficult time hating adult men who are attracted to teenagers who look like young adult women. I think it's a tricky grey area. Once they know the facts they should back off, but I think the idea that most men would is fantasy. And I don't think that teenage girls are completely blameless when they play games with older men. Sorry. I know that's not the right answer, but that's where I stand.Okay so after the movie's over you know that that's really not the issue here. But for most of the movie, you don't know that. And I didn't. I didn't think Jeff was guilty until he said so. And then when he did I was like 'huh, what?' My stomach had been tied up in knots to that point mostly because I had been hating Hayley for the entire film. So now what? I don't know. I spent the last 5-10 minutes with fuzzy brain. So that fact alone, to me, says this is a great movie. And you can't feel as strongly as I did about the events in the film if something was off because everyone had to be firing on all cylinders. And they were. The fact that I was rooting for Jeff so strongly, and against Hayley so strongly, make me wonder who actually gave the better performance. They were both awesome. If you've read this far you should have already seen it. If not shame on you, and will you please go rent it now?
The whole is much less than sum of all parts
posted on 25 Jul 2009There 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.
Clever Provocative Masterpiece
posted on 17 Jul 2009This movie blew me away, the contextual elements, the plot and characters. A beautifully well acted Ellen Page did her job well by playing this troubled "isane" girl. The story and scenes are constructed well , it isn't one of those movies that is very slow to pick up pace. The setting of the photographer's house also did justice to this movie. Some scenes are very intense, especially one scene hint "gastration" really made me cringe in my seat. This is movie for all viewers who like to be questioned, the movie has so many questions to be answered especially at the end. A good movie to watch , it certainly lived up to my expectations
Loved this movie!!
posted on 26 Aug 2009I was prepared to like this movie due to its content because my own childhood trauma. However, I wasn't prepared to LOVE it. It was so engagingly well written. Some may argue that a 14 year old girl isn't "smart enough" to pull of what Haley does, but I beg to differ. Looking in the not too distant past, i.e. Columbine, boys are "smart enough" to pull off horrific crimes in "real life", right? This one might be fiction...but it was certainly was thrill to see a pedophile get what he deserved--even if it was only fictional. Both characters were solid, yet mysterious. Some may not to know who to "side with" at times...although, I never wavered from Haley. She was captivating, innocent, terrifying, childish, jaded, and absolutely insane...and totally sane. What do YOU think?