A movie review by:
Andrew Vigeant
Mmmmm..hard candy..yeah that was my best Homer Simpson impersonation...sad I know...just like this movie, not in a bad way though. If you're expecting this movie to be about hard candy or any candy at all actually you will be sadly mistaken. For three weeks now Hayley Stark(Ellen Page) has talking to Lensmaster319, a middle-aged photographer, named Jeff Kohlver(Patrick Wilson). The two agree to meet at a place named Nighthawks. Hayley flirts with Jeff, but gets no real response until she invites herself over to his place. Once at the house, Hayley puts on quite the show....
Their are only two actors to focus on in this movie, but don't be discouraged because they both don't get tiring from their excessive screentime nor go over the top with their lines. Ellen Page(Hayley Stark) delivers on an outstanding level, especially for her age, and is quite cute(she does play a 14 year old but she is actually 20 years old). Page doesnt captivate you with her looks, but instead does so with her great acting performance. That isn't something that is common because most actresses need to captivate you with looks before their acting which isn't the right way to go. Patrick Wilson(Jeff Kohlver) delivers on a slighty lesser stage, but nevertheless a great performance. He plays the role so well without even looking like the type of guy who would be a pedophile. The chemistry between these two make you think that they connected on a high level during or even before movie production, and it definitely shows and adds a lot to the overall appearance of the film.
Saying that this movie amazing repeatedly for hours on end would still not compensate with how amazing it is. It effects you, regardless of age, on such an intense level you will immediately want to re-watch this film. David Slade, with such a touchy subject of pedophilia, could've made this film into something very special or something very horrible....I'm glad he chose the latter. he didn't make the pedophile into some kind of monster or evil person, but instead chose to humanize him which makes you relate to him and try to understand the infinte question: why?
The only real reason this isn't a perfect 4 out of 4 stars is because they could've done more and gone further with this film. By making it longer and adding more scenes with Hayley and Patrick they could've humanized him more, and gave us even more excitement of her being caught, him escaping, etc... Overall I definitely recommend this film to people of ALL ages!!
1 comment:
Good review. Maybe if you wanted to make it longer you could have focused on the film's technical achievements, which I think are very good for the small budget. The last scene set against the sunset is worth mentioning not only for how beautiful it is but also because of its emotional resonance. I do think that Patrick Wilson does a better job in this film than Page but that's to be expected since he's a trained actor and she's just beginning.
Overall tho a good review and keep writing don't be like me.
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