MovieChat Forums > Hard Candy (2006) Discussion > The real problem with this movie

The real problem with this movie

posted 10 years ago by lazarillo
4 replies | jump to latest

This is basically a revenge movie told in reverse where the revenge starts before you even know WHY the character is taking revenge or what the "victim" did to deserve it (if he even did anything). That makes it very hard to identify with the avenger, and the revelation at the end obviously makes it very hard to identify with the aveng-ee. If this were some Michael Haneke-type film pointing out how manipulative these kind of films are, that might redeem it a little, but it's not that intelligent. Really, it just doesn't work.

The "villain" is a sadistic, murderous statutory rapist off-screen and the "heroine" is a sadistic, murderous sociopath on-screen. One is no better and no worse than the other. It's like watching two human cockroaches tear at each other for 90 minutes, and it's simply not satisfying, tragic, or cathartic that one eventually gets its head ripped off.

If this movie is trying to make a moral point--and I'm not at all convinced it is--the point seems to be that LUST is bad, but WRATH is good. I don't know, aren't they both considered deadly sins?

[–] therefdotcom 10 years ago

if you feel a need to compare:

jeff - murder, vanity, glutony, lust, envy, pride, possibly greed as well
let's not forget, that he commited suicide.

hailey - wrath

also, if we are talking old testament, hailey has done the lord's work and therefore is guaranteed a place in heaven.

oh and ironically, this is indeed a very heneke-esque film. it does not dictate anything. it shows you things to draw your own conclusion. there is no protagonist and there is no antagonist.

it's not the films fault, that you draw the wrong conclusions.

[–] doubl3 9 years ago

Way to misrepresent things. She had way more than one issue.

[–] therefdotcom 9 years ago

hats rich, coming from the person who wrote that jeff might have been completely innocent. ;)

[–] Rmiles92 10 years ago

Now that you mention it, it does read like a hacky version of Hanecke. Created some thrills, but ultimately quite unsatisfying. The other problem is that it looks just like plain dreadful filming, like a bad car commercial shot on video. It's like it was shot by someone with no eye for photography (it obviously wasn't, but that's what it looks like).

Is this your homework, Larry?