Hard Candy

Part cat-and-mouse bondage melodrama and part debate about the abuse of women, David Slade's Hard Candy aims to be a provocative and puzzlingly clever tale of a young girl's vigilante justice against a man who may be a child molester (and possibly even a serial killer). But it's ultimately more unsavory than enlightening, more exploitative than instructive. After connecting with older photographer Jeff Kohlver (Patrick Wilson) online, 14-year-old Hayley (Ellen Page) goes to his house…and drugs him. Jeff awakens to find himself trussed up and charged by the girl with being a pedophile, maybe even a murderer, thus sparking a long dialogue between the two as he protests his innocence and she searches the house for evidence. Although Hard Candy goes for shock value (by the halfway point the guy is threatened with castration), what cripples the film is a lack of backstory—we never learn the girl's motivation, or how she acquired the knowledge she possesses—and dialogue that comes across as stagy rather than genuine. Optional. [Note: DVD extras include two audio commentaries (one by director David Slade and writer Brian Nelson; the other by costars Ellen Page and Patrick Wilson), two “making-of” pieces (the 52-minute “Creating Hard Candy” and the 10-minute “Controversial Confection”), six deleted and extended scenes (11 min.), DVD-ROM features (including a production notebook), and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an uneven film.] (F. Swietek)[Blu-ray Review—Oct. 12, 2010—Lionsgate, 105 min., R, $19.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 2005's Hard Candy boasts a solid transfer with DTS-HD sound. Blu-ray extras include two audio commentaries (one by director David Slade and writer Brian Nelson; the other by costars Ellen Page and Patrick Wilson), the “making-of” featurettes “Creating Hard Candy” (52 min.) and “Controversial Confection” (10 min.), six deleted and extended scenes (11 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a solid Blu-ray debut for one of Juno star Page's earlier films.]