By the time I first heard of the movie "Hard Candy", there was already quite a buzz going on about what a shocking film it was. I had also heard many claims that it was one of the best films of the year. Of course I hear this claim over and over for most films, so I went into it with a bit of narrowed expectation. I was already aware that the film's subject matter was going to be of intense interest to me because my wife and I have recently done our own bit of investigation into the world of Internet predators, more so for the protection of our own children than any great quest for knowledge for knowledge's sake. What we learned, while not necessarily surprising, was intensely shocking. The world of Internet predators is far larger than I ever could have expected. The sick and perverted individuals who prey on the young, impressionable and trusting seem to live on every street and come from all walks of life. We had recently "Nightline's" series on the subject, where reporters teamed up with Perverted Justice (an organization dedicated to the catching of these creeps), who posed as young boys and girls in Internet chat rooms.

They did this in cities across the country, and in every one of them caught over 30 individuals over the course of a couple of days. These individuals would come to a staked out house planning to meet young boys or girls with the intent to have sex. Among those caught were teachers, a fireman and even a rabbi. It begged the question as to whether or not our children were safe anywhere.

The reason I knew I was going to at least like "Hard Candy", was in the fact that the story allows the tables to be turned on the predator. We are initially introduced to the characters the way they would in turn be introduced to each other. We see a close-up of a computer screen, where an innuendo charged conversation becomes a plan to meet in person. When our characters meet at a local coffee shop, we find that he (Patrick Wilson) is a 32 year old photographer. His prey (Ellen Page) is a 14 year old girl who is impressed by his demeanor and flattered by his sly and seemingly innocent compliments. Watching the two dance around the subject of going back to his house I was impressed not only by screenwriter Patrick Nelson's terrific script, but by the naturalistic performances of the two leads.

Once they go back to his house, the seduction begins… but once the predator passes out we learn that things are not always what they seem. Not to get into too much spoiler ridden detail, the remainder of the film offers a tour-de-force of verbal and mental acrobatics delivered by two of the strongest actors I've seen in a film over the last two or three years. Here I'll mention the screenplay again, because instead of turning the young girl into a forceful predator, she is written in such a way as to keep that touch of innocence right along side that of innocence lost. And Page balances these two sides without ever losing sight of either. I wondered while watching the film how old she was at the time because her talent was visibly far greater than what one might expect from a 14 year old. (Turns out she was 18, but never once looked her age in the movie, adding to the overall effect of her performance.)

And not to be overlooked, Patrick Wilson was no slouch either as he turned from slick predator to pissed-off adult to tortured and terrified child. The two wrestle for the majority of the film, with the only other two actors in the film showing up in its final minutes. It's rare nowadays to find actors that can command your attention for such an extended period of time in film.

I loved everything about "Hard Candy" and found myself agreeing that it was absolutely one of the best films of the year. I believe the leads delivered Oscar worthy performances, but will certainly be overlooked in lieu of the slicker Hollywood marketing teams. I would also consider director David Slade to be a contender for an Oscar as the movie stays on target from start to finish both in its look and his obvious control over the actor's performances. Even the screenplay (again) should be considered, in part for the powerful dialogue that moves the film without ever dominating it.

Lions Gate released the DVD last month, which is where I finally had the chance to see the movie and was blown away by a movie that far exceeded my expectations. Included in the DVD release are two separate commentaries, the first by Slade and Nelson who go into rich detail all of what it took to bring the film together and how they got the performances they were looking for. This followed up by a second commentary by actors Wilson and Page. This one was interesting in that while the characters became such diametrically opposed enemies, the actors shared a more constructive lesson in teamwork and played off of each others strengths and weaknesses in order to make as good a film as they could. There are also a few deleted scenes as well as a couple of featurettes on the making of the film.

What surprised me the most about "Hard Candy" was that it tackled a very tough subject without pulling any punches. There were sequences that were very difficult to watch, but not for the reasons I thought I'd be faced with. I knew there would be some scenes of torture, but where the filmmakers proved themselves to have immense talent was in making everything implied instead of shown. It was kind of like Hitchcock's "Psycho", where people thought they saw the knife cut skin but the reality was that it was never there. This film works in much the same way and works as much on the audience's mental perception as the characters do on each other.

In many ways "Hard Candy" is very much like a modern re-telling of "Little Red Riding Hood." But it is a revisionist one as well, where the young girl is both Red and the Woodman, taking out revenge on the predatory Wolf who has, in essence, gobbled up the innocence of children.

Directed by: David Slade
Starring: Patrick Wilson, Ellen Page, Sandra Oh, Odessa Rae
Extras: Commentary by Director David Slade and Writer Patrick Nelson, Commentary by Actors Patrick Wilson and Ellen Page, Deleted and Extended Scenes, Making of Documentary, Controversial Confection Mini Featurette, DVD-Rom Production Notebook. Theatrical Trailer
Specifications: Widescreen (2.35:1), Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound
Studio: Lions Gate
Release Date: 9/19/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: R (For Disturbing Violent Aberrant Sexual Content Involving a Teen, and For Language)
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We'll give Hard Candy an A+.