For me, with the reverse Red Riding Hood motif in the final coda reminds me of another genius unhinged movie 'Freeway' (1996) with the dangerous delectable Drew Barrymore, which to be fair is a proper movie when this is more of a wobbly-filmed two hander play, still Hard Candy is no less visceral and gut wrenching a pleasure to watch. Also Ellen (now Elliott) Page is just so fantastic: a mix of cute schoolgirl petulance and wirey pugnaciousness... I now love him in whatever he does, what a superstar. Back then Ellen's psychotic yet vulnerable performance is for me one of the most outstanding things I've seen in over 400 films I've seen in 12 months. The screenplay is the other star, tight, smart, and deliciously sardonic. I love it too much maybe, as it feels such a guilty pleasure with the frisson of exploitation & sexual curiosity that impossibly fuses with a righteous revenge story. I almost wanted to walk the plank myself after enjoying it so wholeheartedly. If winsome Elliot insisted I do so, I would gladly.
Review of Hard Candy
