Film reviews
Title: Hard Candy
Director: David Slade
Stars: Patrick Wilson ; Ellen Page ; Sandra Oh
Reviewer: Matt Eccles
Rating (out of 10): 5
Review:
This debut feature from director David Slade gained notoriety for its protracted scene of an ultra-precocious 14-year-old girl (Ellen Page) taking the ultimate revenge on a thirty-something photographer (Patrick Wilson) that she believes is a paedophile. Unfortunately this key sequence, along with much of the rest of the film, stretches credulity so far past tearing point that squirms will come more from restlessness than revulsion.
Writer Brian Nelson flirts with the valid question of which of his characters is the real villain before preferring to unveil an unconvincing back-story that annihilates what little tension was established.
There are considerable shortcomings of the script but the lead performances are Hard Candy’s undeniable assets, Wilson competently eliciting sympathy and scorn while Page formidably showcases her burgeoning talent.