Candy - Film Review
May 20th 2006 08:36
Candy Film Poster (from Wikipedia)
Ewen McGregor did it with heroin in Trainspotting.
Johnny Depp put his nose to the mirror in Blow.
Cheech and Chong drove a bus made of marijuana in Up in Smoke.
And so on...
The latest entry is Australia's own Heath Ledger, getting cooked on smack, the big H, and falling into the nightmarish depths of heroin addiction. He pulls it off with his customary charm, and makes you wonder if he's acting, or he really IS high.
And so begins Candy - the first feature film directed by Neil Armfield, Sydney University alumni and the Artistic Director of Company B Theatre Company - it begins with little warmup to hardcore drug use, injecting soupy heroin directly into the bloodstream.
The film is broken into three parts, Heaven, Earth and, predictably, Hell. Like many other drug-based films, you can trace the arc of the storyline in the sky, and it becomes readily apparent what the eventual fate of these characters is going to be. Yes, this is a dark, depressing film, shot in Sydney, but purposefully on cloudy days, enhancing the grim look of Candy.
Looking at the film poster, you might be inclined to believe that Candy is a romantic film, about poetry, love and heroin... well, don't expect much poetry, or much love, because heroin takes over pretty quickly.
Ledger's object of affection is Candy, a comely young woman played by Abbie Cornish. A woman whose bond with heroin pushes her to do desperate acts to get enough money to get high. We are allowed many glimpses of Cornish's well-shaped nude body, but her sexuality becomes masked by the ugliness of her character.
One of the truly excellent features of Candy is that, amidst all the nastiness and dirty, bottom-of-the-barrel living, there is still such humour throughout the film. Seriosly - laugh out loud jokes pervade Candy.
For example, Ledger's character, Dan, explores the option of working as a gay prostitute to make money for their habit, and asks his gay friend about 'the details':
Dan: So, y'know, when you do it, do they expect you to have a stiffy?
Casper: Well..(turns head slowly)... it helps...
Dan: (leans back, disappointed, and exhales) I just don't think I could do it, then.
Casper, the father figure to the couple, is none other than Geoffery Rush, as the most charming and entertaining character in the film, a successful homosexual, who still has lingering ties to the drug-addled from his debaucherous youth. From one of his early scenes:
Casper: This is Jorge... he speaks no English, but he has a very large penis.
Requiem for a Dream screenshot (from Wikipedia)
Candy shares a lot of similarites with Requiem for a Dream, an American film about heroin and addiction, and the parallels are striking. Where the films diverge, however, is in a matter of style... while Requiem for a Dream is a fast-moving, turbulent look at heroin, paced with fast cuts and sharp editing, Candy is a pensive, thoughtful child.
Even in the darkest moments of the film, you begin to feel an appreciation for the mentality of the characters, with Ledger and Cronish saying little, but showing it all.
While I hope I never reach the sinewy depths of heroin addiction, there is something remotely romantic about the drug, with the penetration of the needle cutting the user away from reality.
And while I'm not the type to inject drugs into my blood, I can appreciate that the two main characters in Candy thought they could hold each other up, with heroin acting as the icing on their relationship...eventually, of course, they failed, and the world exacted its harsh and cruel toll on their lives.
I say: Aw yeah, watch it, and revel in its heroiny goodness. It's like a really greasy sausage sandwich. Revolting to look at, but very filling.
See it for: Geoffrey Rush doing his bit. Heath not saving people, for once. Abbie Cornish becomes a real bitch.
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Comment by amy
Not one for the faint-hearted eh?
Comment by Cibbuano
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just go see it...
Comment by Matt
The 53rd Sydney Film festival is coming up early next month, you looking forward to it Cibby? Are you going to be reviewing any of the films from it? It looks really good this year so it got a mention on Sydney Diary. Are you into film festivals?
Comment by Cibbuano
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should be great!
Comment by Ruth
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Meanwhile, I really want to see Candy the Heath Ledger version, but yer, I'm not holding my breath for it to get to the states. Stinky, I'll have to get the dvd shipped out.
Comment by Cibbuano
20/20 Filmsight
Science News
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
your candy sounds pretty exciting... I don't think the Australian one will make much of a splash in the US, unless you can find an exotic theatre...