"Hard Candy" is an unconventional character driven thriller that one could easily have imagined Hitchcock directing if he had been born in the late 20th century. 14 year old Hayley (Ellen Page in a ferocious performance) begins an online flirtatious relationship with Jeff(in a powerful performance) a 32 year old photographer. Hayley appears sweet but that sweet exterior hides a tough, shrewd and powerful teenager with revenge on her mind. She ends up back at his place and what could have been a disastrous liaison between a young teen and a pedophile takes a U-turn as Hayley takes control tying Jeff up with her own unknown agenda. ***

Written by Brian Nelson a playwright and TV writer ("Earth: Final Conflict", "20 Thousand Leagues Under the Sea")and based on a pitch by David Higgins one of the producers of the film "Hard Candy" is surprisingly cinematic even though it essentially a two person film for most of its running time. This is probably the best filmed material th at I've seen Nelson write. The film is at turns riveting and exhausting with its constant plot twists and the performances by the cast. David Slade's direction makes the most of his actors and sets by confining much of the film to claustrophobic close ups of the two main actors. The actors embody these characters so well that we find ourselves feeling unexpected sympathy for Jeff at various times, his guilt and wondering about Hayley's true motivation. ---

Image & Sound:

The disc looks marvelous in this transfer. The primary colors of Jeff's apartment are bright in an almost surreal pop-art sort of way clearly indicating that something isn't quite right about the character. The aggressive audio sounds marvelous but keep in mind this is a dialogue driven drama with most of its activity in the front and center speakers. Surround channels are used however for some nice ambient effects. ---

There's a multiple part documentary that can be viewed piece meal covering everything from conception to final release. We learn for example that 18 year old Ellen Page clearly was the favorite but because she had shaved her head for a role appeared to look like a 12 year old boy. The writer, director and producer watched her audition online and thought she gave a powerful performance but asked her to do it again in a wig so they could picture her in the role. We also get interviews with the actors discussing their roles, their approach to the roles and how draining the film could be to shoot because of the intense emotions in the film. There are two commentary tracks one of which features director David Slade and writer Brian Nelson discussing the technical specs of shooting, changes to the script that occurred during production (Higgins points out that Nelson's script was one of the few flawless first drafts he had ever seen. He felt they could have g one into production without any rewrites). Actors Patrick Wilson and Ellen Page appear on a separate commentary track discussing their performances, preparation for their roles and direction of the film. There's also the featurette "Controversial Confection" included as well as a DVD-ROM production Notebook and the trailer for the film. ---

Final Words: