"Hard Candy"

Wow, what a movie! “Hard Candy” tells a twisted story of a 15 year old girl, Lauren, who turns the tables on an attractive and successful photographer, Jeff, she met online in a chat room. The movie takes the viewer on a ride of oscillating emotions as it becomes unclear who is good and who is bad as the twisted events unfold.

At first, when the two agree to meet up at a coffee shop, both of the characters seem like relatively normal people. The photographer, though creepy for perusing a little girl on the Internet, was surprisingly cute and well off. The girl, though very young and already suspicious looking, seemed very smart and innocent at the same time. As the two arrive at his house, it seems like any other shady older man interaction with a young girl. Subtly playful and still legal play quickly takes a turn when Lauren says one of the most important phrases in the movie “Don’t drink anything you haven’t mixed yourself.”(which is now a motto I want to live by!) An unexpected reversal of roles is made when Lauren actually drugs Jeff’s drink and goes about teaching him a torturous lesson. Through an alleged castration, thorough tazeing, and attempted hanging, Jeff lives on until the very end when he is passively persuaded into to kill himself. Lauren lived up to her promise that she wasn’t going to kill him; she made him do it for her. She did it all in the name of all the little girls Jeff has molested and/or killed and all of the ones he won’t get a chance to harm anymore… which is kind of respectable… maybe?

That girl was CRAZY! What I liked most about her is how much she reminded me of a young Cathy Ames, one of my favorite characters form one of my favorite books. Both are purely evil and demented characters that make the plot outrageous, unbelievable, and enthralling. I love Cathy! Ole creepy man, Jeff, illustrated the truth behind his statement at the beginning of the movie, “People’s faces lie.” Just like the old phrase, “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” You really can’t judge a person by their face or outward appearance. I would have never guessed a well-dressed attractive man of his age would have been a pedophile. It kinda hurt me that he actually was so disturbed in the end. I also surly would have never guessed that a cute little girl with a peter pan haircut would end up being a torturous murderer. You just never know.

The movie was great with its compelling story line and camera maneuvers that reflected and enhance the frantic, intense, and confusing action. I would suggest it to anyone who is willing to go along for the ride. As my mom says “Anna, these movies you make me watch are so weird… but they’re good!” So, weird is usually good!