Normally, there is something wonderful about going to the movies by yourself once in a while, it's a total-immersion experience. However, having to say "one to 'Hard Candy', please" adds a certain ... edge to it. Especially when the guy in the queue in front of you asks for a ticket, and you walk into a cinema to find that about half the audience consists of single guys. Hmmm.
Despite the lack of company and the iffy title, I actually quite enjoyed the movie. The premise is that a 14-year old girl hunts down the guy she believes to be responsible for the disappearance of her friend (or maybe not responsible, or maybe not her friend). She then proceeds to torture him, messing with his head and other pertinent body parts until the whole thing is resolved in a way that is supposed to be unexpected.
It's essentially a tame, vanilla version of a much more frightening and intelligent German film called "Devot" ("Devotion"). Like in "Devot", an attractive young photographer picks up a girl whom he believes to be underage, and takes her to his studio. From then on we are essentially treated to a classical locked-room drama with two actors alone in a surgically clean house, in a constantly-shifting scenario where we don't know who is the predator and who is the prey. So far so good. Unfortunately, unlike "Devot", "Hard Candy" just isn't written or directed terribly well. It has a weakish sсriрt and poor thriller timing, so that some scenes that would be scary fall flat because they are much too long. It has other scenes that would be tragic if only the sсriрt gave the actors more to work with. Occasionally it's amusing in ways that are entirely unintentional.
That said, the performances are excellent, notably from Ellen Page as the psycho girl. Patrick Wilson (aka Raoul from "Phantom of the Opera") is just as good, despite getting dialogue that is not as cleverly written as it should have been. The entire role screams of missed opportunities. However, he makes the most of every line, especially when it comes to what little backstory he gets, a subplot with a former girlfriend.
I have no idea what earned the film its 18+ rating, because you could happily show it to your average 14 year old without any adverse effects, and anyone younger than that probably wouldn't get it anyway. If you're looking for a mind-twisting thriller, rent "Devotion" instead, and make sure you're not alone in an empty house when you watch it. This one certainly sets up a frightening situation, but it doesn't, uhh, have the balls to go where it's leading.
So why did I enjoy it? It has a sense of tragedy about it that is very compelling, even if it doesn't quite take the story in that direction. I left with a sense of sadness rather than anxiety, which for me was a good thing. It makes you think, and not about the things you expect. Ultimately, that's pretty good value for my $8.