Rajeev Masand – movies that matter : from bollywood, hollywood and everywhere else

There are disturbing films and then some. Hard Candy is the kind of film that works when it makes you uncomfortable; that makes you shift in your seat and leaves you all hot and bothered in the end.

It’s the story of a 14-year-old girl who entraps a 32-year-old pedophile on the Internet, gets herself invited to his home, and quickly has him strapped down and helpless. Hard Candy carefully treads the line between titillation and revenge, and it’s riveting because it’s held together by a heroic performance from Juno star Ellen Page who was 17 at the time she played the film’s protagonist.

Never a conventional thriller, the film is for the most part a dramatic battle-of-wits between its two central characters, who spend pretty much the entire duration of the film talking to each other. Shot mostly in a single location, the film is hard to disengage from.

Patrick Wilson, who stars as the girl’s hostage, delivers a brave performance and is especially convincing as he squeals and begs, using everything from polite requests to abusive threats as he tries to talk her out of what she intends to do to him.

Hard Candy works as a psychological thriller, and it challenges you to continue watching. Bold and disturbing, the film is clearly not for the faint-hearted. It throws up the important debate about what is fair punishment for pedophiles.

If you can gather your guts, give it a chance. It’s a film that takes the subject of pedophilia and twists it in such a way that your standard response is challenged severely. Worth a watch, if you have the stomach for it.