HARD CANDY is one of those films that took enormous courage on the part of the writer (Brian Nelson),director (David Slade),and producers - let alone the actors - to bring a tale of pedophilia to the mainstream audience. Made for a small budget (yet the production values are so very artistic that it feels like an expensive film),HARD CANDY is essentially a duet for two actors: the actors Ellen Page and Patrick Wilson deliver performances that become indelibly burned on the mind of the viewer.

32-year old photographer Jeff has been chatting online with 14-year old Haley for three weeks using standard chat room seduction lines. They meet, talk, seem to get along well - until Haley invites herself to Jeff's home, much against Jeff's better judgment. Once home the beautiful space in which Jeff lives (the set decor is splendid, using sensitive colors in a cinematic way),the walls adorned with photographs of young models, seems a fitting space for a fine photographer. But soon the twist of the story explodes and Haley lets Jeff know that she is there to punish him for his pedophilia and for some specific events in his history. She drugs him, and when he awakens Jeff is the captive, forced to undergo the intensive questioning and innuendos from Haley, including being set up for castration. The tension mounts to a peak as the two characters uncover aspects of each other; the final resolution of the long encounter comes as a stunning surprise.

The quality of the film is so fine that no judgments are made: is Jeff truly a criminal pedophile?, is Haley insane?, can this reversal of roles happen? The script is so beautifully written that it remains intelligent and straight, forcing the viewer to become involved in the quest for truth. Ellen Page delivers a brilliant performance as Haley and Patrick Wilson steps out of his usual milk toast roles to create a man driven by strange needs who gradually comes to a point of self acceptance in one of the more powerful scenes of film this viewer has seen.

The audience for this examination of pedophilia may be small and therein lies the pity. This is a film that deals with a tough subject so very well that the viewer gains an understanding into dysfunctional characteristics while being caught up in a suspenseful thriller of a story. This is independent film making at its best.

Patrick Wilson plays a 32-year-old professional photographer who we first see flirting with a 14-year-old girl, Ellen Page, on the internet. They meet at a cafe and, after he takes her on a little shopping trip, she more or less eagerly agrees to go to his apartment. So far, so good.

The movie could easily have been procrustianized into another movie-of-the-week about a depraved Humbert Humbert salivating over an innocent, weeping, victimized young virgin. But it doesn't seem that way at all. It heads in a more adult direction. Wilson doesn't have long, greasy hair and jailhouse tattoos. He doesn't brag or try to con her in any way. He seems like a nice guy, with his professorial specs and his bland handsomeness and his apparently genuine reticence about taking a pubescent girl to his flat.

And Ellen Page is like, wow, a bit dazzled by the attentions of this grown-up boy but, wow, she's like pretty forthcoming in every respect. "Don't peek now," she says upon entering the dressing room to try on his gift. "You're not mature enough," he says, grinning, not trying to peek. And then she opens the door and appears topless except for her bustier, her rock-hard abs rippling, and asks, "Is this mature enough for you?" In his apartment this same banter goes on. She makes jokes about the photos of young girls that adorn his walls and his explanation is both serious and understandable. If his photos are good it's because the models are good. The photographer is just the vehicle. At least one of them has gone on to the Ford agency. He's slept with none of them but has been in love with one, when he himself was younger. He has a closet full of pictures of nature for the World Wildlife Federation or something too.

By this time it's clear that this isn't likely to turn into a depraved monster flick. The guy may be suffering from Lewis Carroll syndrome but he's fundamentally okay. The girl is quick-witted and perceptive, attracted and perhaps flattered but not discomfited by Wilson.

So -- is something good in the offing? Will we learn something about why normal young men are attracted to teen-aged girls? Will we get some feeling for why adolescent girls develop crushes on mature men? No. We will not.

Page mixes some screwdrivers and knocks Wilson out with one of those "drugs" that only exist in the movies, the effects of which are almost immediate and which last only long enough for the victim to be tied up helplessly. The young girl taunts him, pierces his ploys with ease, accuses him of being, oh, just about everything in the book, including a murderer, though he's guilty of nothing more than bad judgment. Not hideous judgment. Just bad judgment. Then she does to him what I once helped a group of Samoan villagers do to some male pigs. The movie shows this surgical procedure as simple, and it must be if it can be performed with a razor blade by a heavy handed farmer clad in a loincloth, although I must say the pigs objected like nobody's business, much more than Wilson does.

The plot, such as it is, isn't worth describing in any more detail. Torture is torture. I was as disgusted by what happens to Wilson as I am by what happens to innocent young women in slasher movies.

Who gets a kick out of such ineffable trash? Towards the end there is some mumbled business about Wilson having been involved in the murder of a young girl. Are we then supposed to be rooting for Ellen Page as an avenger? It's a bit hard to do that because until the end she had no more than a crazy suspicion that Wilson might have committed such a heinous act. I don't think we're supposed to feel sorry for Wilson either because the first time we meet him he's trading innuendos with some girl-child. What's more, he's got a stash of some unspecified photos of naked girls that Page discovers while rifling his apartment. Even without the evidence, we suspect him of harboring indecent thoughts about teen-aged girls. Is THAT enough reason to emasculate and kill him? If so, a lot of men are in trouble. And so are women. Being punished for thinking bad thoughts is the business of the Thought Police.

I suspect the audience this is intended for is the same audience that claps and cheers as slaughters, each grislier than the last, follow one another in climactic order in a typical slasher movie. What a strange and pitiless people, who can applaud when an innocent is dismembered and yet wants to kill a man who has had offensive sexual impulses that he manages to control.

When the film begins, a pedophile is chatting with a very young looking girl, Hayley (Ellen Page). Soon, she agrees to meet him at a coffee house and the guy is super-creepy as he pretends to care about the girl and her interests. Soon, he's convinced her to come home with him and you can only assume he's going to molest Hayley. However, Jeff (Patrick Wilson) soon learns that while he thinks he's in control and will be raping the girl, he's soon drugged, trussed up and being physically and emotionally tormented by Hayley. Surprisingly, this makes up at least 80% of the film...80% where this older than her years girl torments Jeff and makes him wish he was dead, as death would be easier than dealing with Hayley and her 'games'.

This is a super difficult film to watch and I strongly advise you to think twice before you watch it because of the subject matter. If you've been a victim of sexual abuse, I could easily see the film's content bringing up horrible flashbacks...same with anyone who has been tortured. It cannot help but push the viewer's buttons. Additionally, many who haven't been through this might also want to beg off watching this one...it IS intense and often hard to watch. It is NOT a film for the squeamish. However, despite these warnings, the film is able to balance physical violence...not showing too much and often leaving the worst of it to your imagination.

My only reservations about the film, other than the violence, is that I would have loved to know more about Hayley--especially since she doesn't talk or act like the 14 year-old she's supposed to be in the film. She's more like a 20-something with her clever puns and verbal dexterity. Plus, WHAT IS HER MOTIVATION? While none of this ruins the film in any way, it does leave you wondering.

For the right audience, this film is exquisitely made and worth seeing. Also, I was surprised with the film as there was a line about Roman Polanski. While he IS a convicted child rapist, so often Hollywood has somehow excused this...but "Hard Candy" certainly doesn't!