Genres

Visitors Review

Geoff Andrew 2012-05-20 17:37:05

[A] slightly over-familiar but neatly told story of a sexual/romantic passion at once partly fuelled and blighted by drug addiction.

2012-05-19 18:53:50

WOW Im lost for words

This is an amazing movie. I love how they showed the relationship of a man and woman on drugs. It showed how the drugs at first gives them a strong connection of love, sex and friendship. Then it goes on and shows, how after a while of using heroin the relationship becomes tainted and and volatile. Once clean and removed from each other for a while, there is some clarity from Dan about how the relationship really was, very unhealthy, codependent and dangerous. The acting in this if spot on, I dont know how I missed it in the theaters. Heath Ledger was a very talented actor its to bad that the reality of this movie caught up with him. BTW Im a drug counselor, do you think this movie is to vivid for new addicts in recovery?? Let me know your opinion.

Michael Phillips 2012-05-16 22:08:38

[Heath Ledger] is alive and awake and interesting every minute of Candy.

2012-05-16 14:54:06

Had hoped for more development.

I knew it would be a downer, this story. It could have been titled, "Watch Drugs Destroy Two More Attractive People!". But there was so little character development that you didn't really care about Dan or Candy. Watching this was like watching an excrutiatingly drawn out train wreck. You weren't drawn in to the drama as it sped along it's downward spiral. You wanted to be drawn in. You wanted so say, "Make me care!" But it never happened. Not to me, anyway. Maybe it was not meant to appeal to viewers. Maybe it was just an "art film" that told a little, grim story, and viewers could take it or leave it. I wanted to see Heath Ledger make another movie where he completely "melts" into a character, like Ennis Delmar in "Brokeback", where his performance is heartwrenching and unforgettable. I hope his next movie will shine. Sorry, this one was disappointing.

wyldworx 2012-05-12 11:22:33

Brilliant awe invoking and raw rooted emotion - reflection from my injection...

....So what can I say but thankyou for the truth! You have given itjustice, it makes sense and in some way still brings a most hopelesssob to my demeanor - and I mean weaping, that is no mistake. I feltevery moment as if experiencing the terror once again, and I amreminded of a saying that used to get passed around those putred alleysstinking of fish-gut, stinky shoes and spew of Cabramatta - I grew upthere, and saw it change overnight, then slowly engulf my life - havingthat last shot with whats-his-face.... "Ya wouldn't wish this on yourworst enemy, would ya bro" "Nah man, no way" they'd say as they calmlyspoon-surfed consciousness. Thankyou for not gloryfying such hell - Iam yet to return with that guy who speaks of it's good qualities.

Carina Chocano 2012-05-11 21:36:19

... for a druggie movie, "Candy" is surprisingly dynamic and involving ...

Good girl 2012-05-10 05:20:12

Candy

This movie is very realistic and powerful. I usually like happy endings in stories but this movie has an ending that I feel content with. The acting and story line are very powerful and believable.

2012-05-09 09:55:13

'Candy' falls apart

Candy is an attempt to tell a story about heroin addiction without resorting to the scuzzy cliches that usually characterize the genre.It shouldve no trouble picking up international distribution. Director Neil Armfield might refrain from any Just Say No polemic, but his film still has an anti-drug message at its core. The presence of Heath Ledger as a male lead will obviously give the film a tremendous boost. It will likely appeal more to a young, MTV-oriented audience in tune with its upbeat style than an art house crowd.Candy falls midway between the postmodern insouciance of Trainspotting and the Teutonic doom and gloom of Christiane F. The first part, titled Heaven, is good. Armfield resists the temptation to pass judgment on his characters. Instead he allows the viewer to experience the hedonistic drive of their addiction. Parts 2 and 3, titled Earth and Hell, are less successful. Here Armfield treads the well-worn druggie path of prostitution, despair and mental and physical degradation. Thats necessary, of course - thats where addicts end up when thrill seeking turns into physical need. Trouble is, that the weightiness of the duos decay is too much for the pop approach that worked so well in the first part. The performances measure up accordingly. When addiction is just a game, the hyped-up, pleasantly caricatured portrayals of Geoffrey Rush and Ledger are a blast. Rushs portrayal of a doped-up chemical whiz who acts as the kids guru is initially roguish and charming. But when he later helps the heavily addicted young couple to score, his jaunty performance doesnt ring true. As the characters lives fall apart, Ledger fails to bring the necessary gravitas to the role, and he looks a bit too healthy throughout.

JoeC345 2012-05-06 00:52:25

Love story gone awry.

I've seen this movie a few times now over the years, and each time itgrows on me more and more. It joins the other few films of it's sort;Requiem for a Dream, Trainspotting, etc. Movies that treat drugaddiction in a real sense are few and far between. The differencebetween these films and others is that the character's show the truedesperation of such addictions.This is one of those movies that rely's heavily on it's performance'sand in that respect Heath Ledger is amazing. The raw feeling that hebrings to his character shows that he really was one of the best actorsof his generation. Looking at the difference's is the roles he playedfrom William Thatcher in "A Knight's Tale" and Sonny Grotowski in"Monster's Ball". Geoffrey Rush, who is one of my favorite actors,gives another of his famous performances that he makes his own. Hint toall the reader's out there if you see a role and can't imagine anyoneelse in that role, then that actor or actress has done there jobperfectly.This sort of movie requires very little description here. It's about acouple and their friends that have an addiction to heroin. The dialoguethat is given to describe such acts is almost pitch perfect for what itshould be. Watching the quick view at the top and the slow but steadydrop in despair is how these movies usually go. So sometimes it's nosurprise what happens but in the way in happens is the real achievementin this film. When a film shows such depravity sometimes it disturbs me and it is nodifferent here. However the difference here is that I actually hadempathy for the character's on the screen.

tenthousandtattoos 2012-05-05 04:46:30

hopeless adaptation of a brilliant novel

The adaptation of Candy to screen from the novel by Luke Davies shouldbe a lesson in what NOT to do. I can't believe Davies' actuallyco-wrote the script. Very disappointing. Contrived romanticrelationship, and LEFT OUT some of the books more memorable moments.If you are looking for an "anti" heroin movie, for gods sake rent TheBasketball Diaries. Leave this one on the shelf. Alternatively, readthe book. Still to this day my all-time favourite novel.As far as being "realistic"? Gimme a break. I know what the Aussieheroin scene is like, and it's nothing like the scenes depicted in thisfilm. Abbie Cornish was bad in Somersault and she's worse in this.Heath Ledger was the wrong choice for the narrator (Dan?? FrigginDAN??) - his name is never mentioned in the book.Another annoying thing is almost all of the very interestingsub-characters from the book are missing in the film,and the charactersthat are there (ie Candy's parents, Casper) are boring as batsh*t andyou feel no sympathy for them at all.This has, also, been done before, BETTER. For a well-performed andstrangely beautiful take on pretty much this exact same story (twopeople falling in love while also falling into a heroin addiction), see"The Panic in Needle Park" (1972), starring Al Pacino and Kitty Winn.As far as Candy goes, read the BOOK.

laurawh000 2012-04-29 21:18:14

Terrifying. and beautiful because of it

I just watched Candy last night, and cannot get it out of my head. Abig part of me longs to watch it again, but another part is scared forseeing again the disturbing images that are now burned into my mind. Assomeone above said, this movie isn't for the light hearted, and don'texpect to feel liberated or uplifted afterwards. watch it when your ina 'nothing' mood. when your willing to feel miserable and touched andfull of emotions, but don't have any current inspiration.the acting performed by both leads is amazing, and almost too real.being an actor myself, i cant imagine the ordeal ledger and cornishwent through to get involved into these characters. that determinationand commitment i respect very highly. the script, filming, soundtrack,acting and raw beauty and terror shown in every single moment of thisfilm, makes it unforgettable and i recommend it to everyone who isaware of what they are in for. like those rare few movies in the world,this will change you. even if its only slightly.i have a question that i wanted to ask if anyone knows, it frustratedme when this movie was finished. in the final scene, candy comes tovisit dan at his job, and they kiss and cry, and then he says to her'there's no going back'...then his next two lines i cannot hear him atall, and i have to know what he says! something about 'reprieve'??then... 'its good to remember how thin it is' or something.. and thereis a lot of eye contact and she leaves. if anyone know what he says toher and what it means please please email me on laurawh000@hotmail.com

2012-04-29 09:00:52

Pretty great. Ledger is truly a powerhouse actor.

This review is from: Candy (DVD) This is a very satisfying movie. Heath Ledger is probably going to become one of the most respected actors of all time. He's that good. His love interest in the movie is also a very attractive and solid actress. What really makes the movie for me is the soundtrack. Great choices for this film, and more than one song that I wanted for my collection.

Bradley 2012-04-24 11:53:01

Not So Sweet

Candy was excellent, but don't bother with it if you are looking for a "feel good" movie. This is a love story. It is a story about lovers making major sacrifices for each other. It also shows how severely heroin use and dependence was ruining their lives. It was depressing and made for a good PSA against drug use.Both Heath Ledger and Abby Cornish were convincing in their roles. Nothing about them struck me as forced or cliche.Since this writer, even at age 50, is not familiar with the world that drug abusers live in, I, unlike another critic, found the movie to be totally unpredictable throughout. I was totally absorbed in it from beginning to end.My biggest complaint with it was that we know that Dan and Candy are deeply in love with each other -- but we don't fully know why. The viewer just has to accept the premise that these two are crazy about each other and that they are in living life together, in union as a couple. I have strongly recommended the movie to my friends, provided that they are not looking for it to offer any Christmas cheer.

Chris Hewitt (St. Paul) 2012-04-24 09:26:27

Director Neil Armfield reaps rewards for the trust he places in his actors.

Willie Waffle 2012-04-23 05:47:44

a rough movie to watch, but the acting performances make it worth it.

talel_bj 2012-04-22 11:10:27

great acting!

I saw this movie yesterday at the berlin film festival. I thought itwas absolutely terrific. the theme of drug addiction has been seenbefore but the actors really elevated this piece into somethingoutstanding.i have never seen the actress before but i knew heathledger and was fairly impressed with him. brokeback mountain hasn'tbeen released in Germany just yet, but judging on ledgers performancein this movie i'm even more excited to see it soon. Rush was prettygood too, but this film really belongs to the lead actors. mostdevastating to me was the scene when candy miscarried. it was reallyshocking and moving at the same time. There's no happy ending here(predictably)but i still found the film to be very rewarding to watch.definitely worth seeing!

dead47548 2012-04-22 22:26:19

Painful to watch. Easy to admire.

An original, realistic drug-related film that never goes too far overthe top and never feels like an afterschool special? I thought itcouldn't be done, but boy was I wrong. Though to call Candy a drug filmwould be missing the point completely. It's a film about addiction.Addiction to heroine, yes, but on a much larger level addiction thatone couple has to each other. Dan (Heath Ledger) and Candy (AbbieCornish) are in love. They are also addicts and unemployed. The filmtackles their relationship as it moves from something adorable tosomething tragic. They start off completely in love with one anotherand slowly drift apart, as the madness of addiction becomes deeper anddeeper. Pretty early on Candy has to sell her body in order for them toget money, while Dan gets the drugs. The news that Candy is pregnantleads to them trying to get rid of their habit and start living abetter life. They suffer through withdrawal and right when they startto see the light at the end, she suffers from an inevitablemiscarriage. This sends them further into tragedy than they've everbeen before and leads to the final act of the film being some of themost devastating work I've ever had to endure watching. My stomach wasin knots through a large portion of the film, and I could barely standwatching what was happening on screen. A lot of this is due to thesensational performances from Ledger and Cornish. They work so welltogether; Cornish the emotionally intense and hysterical, Ledger thesubtle and internally anguished. Both of them brought tears to my eyesseveral times throughout. It's without a doubt one of the mostdevastating, wrenching films I've ever seen. It's also one of the best.

2012-04-22 01:42:26

A Terrifying Ode to Addictive Passions of Human Need

I watched the movie "Candy" because the description on back of the DVD made me think it might have something significant to say about how poets manage to cultivate their creative gifts in the face of the world's harsh and often unforgiving realities. It was actually more about fueling delusions of escape from those realities through drug addiction and placing more burdens on love than it can sometimes bear. At the center of this brilliantly artful and emotionally powerful drama are the young hopeful artist named Candy and the would-be poet Dan. Both are emotionally damaged individuals who lead each other through a nightmare maze of drug addiction into a junkie's hell of destitution, prostitution, theft, and death. The film, based on Luke Davies' novel, does raise some important questions about how much we can or should expect out of an individual's capactity for love. The subject more and more artists seem to be examining these days. Creative acts of poetry--such as actually writing, performing spoken word, being inspired, etc.--do not make up the core of this extraordinary film. BUT: the soul-numbing angst suffered by the principle characters does build to one dynamic slam of a poem that makes real artistic and spiritual sense out of Candy's and Dan's horrible personal ordeal.Actress Abbie Cornish absolutely astounds in her portrayal of the title character. The exceptionally gifted Heath Ledger provides yet another off-the-chain performance that demonstrates why he's destined to eventually win the Academy Award that eluded him for "Brokeback Mountain." Other ensemble members, including the phenomenal Oscar-winning Geoffrey Rush, Noni Hazlehurst, and Tony Martin, are never anything less than perfect in their supporting roles.by Aberjhaniauthor of I Made My Boy Out of Poetryand The Harlem Renaissance Way Down South

steve_ray77 2012-04-15 09:43:27

Seeking enlightenment about the ending (failing which, it's bogus)

I confess: I don't get the ending of Candy.One minute Dan is out in the alley behind the restaurant he's workingin, smoking a cigarette and telling us (via voice-over) how all he'sbeen thinking about was seeing Candy again. Then, like a gift fromheaven, she shows up and says "Baby, I'm Yours (again)."Other than some need to have a "life's a bitch and we must all beunhappy" ending, or perhaps because the director had no idea how elseto end the movie, why does Dan suddenly opt for: "There's no goingback." (i.e., why *not,* Dan? or why not just go *forward* -- withCandy?)I'm sorry if I'm too thick to understand. Someone enlighten me, please.

maveric_74 2012-04-14 23:42:28

Could have been great, but had some incredible performances

Saw this last night at Greater Union, Tuggerah. There were about 10 ofus and only 3 of us loved it..But to put it in perspective, the otherswere more keen on seeing Click and The Fast And The Furious: TokyoDrift:-)I thought it was a good movie, but lacked some character depth inplaces. Heath Ledger was good, but it was really Abbie Cornish (soexceptional in Somersault as well) and Geoffrey Rush who wereoutstanding. Abbie Cornish is amazing as Candy, she truly lives andbreathes the role, except in the last scene, where I thought hercharacter didn't really match the emotion shown by Heath Ledger'scharacter. That was Heath's finest scene for me, the way he was able toportray so much emotion without saying anything at all. Tony Martin and Noni Hazelhurst were good in their small time onscreen, but again, the relationship breakdown between Candy and her Mumwasn't really explored which didn't really help when she goes off ather Mum and starts screaming at her for ruining her life..Great direction by Neil Armfield and this was really a movie aboutHeath and Abbie's characters dependence on drugs and on each otherthrough their ordeal. Some of the things they do to obtain drugs andthe money to buy drugs is shocking, but to them just a necessity toobtain ways and means of getting "a fix". As good as this movie was, if you liked Candy, please take time to seean earlier Australian movie from a few years ago called Head On by AnnaKikkonos (I think that's her name). It stars Alex Dimitraides and is amuch better exploration of the drug scene. Overall, Candy is a worthy addition to the local Australian cinema andI'm glad I was able to enjoy this movie. Definitely worth a look forthe performances by Abbie Cornish, Geoffrey Rush and Heath Ledger