Candy
Hey, I know what I want to do today! Watch yet another film about drug addicts on a self-destructive and shocking path to destruction. Maybe I can learn something new this time.
OK, maybe new films about drug addicted youngsters aren't such a great idea because this plot is a bit tired these days.
I know, let's watch a movie about drug addicts on a self-destructive and shocking path to destruction except this time they are living in, oh let us say, Australia? Any difference in how much you want to see this film? Maybe slightly.
Do drug addicted youngsters in Australia act differently somehow? Watching Crush has proved to me the answer to the above question is "not really." If you are in the mood for a depressing time, you can watch "Candy" as well and see if you agree with me that this film is tired and cliche. A drug addict movie is a drug addict movie even if it stars Heath Ledger, Abbie Cornish and Geoffrey Rush.
Candy, an Australian film made in 2006, is a movie about a young artsy couple who begin using heroin. It portrays the various stages during their relationship and its subsequent downfall. News alert: not much new on the subject of drug addiction is revealed in this flick. We, the audience, learns that drugs are dangerous, make you do terrible things and drugs can really screw up your life.
However, I will say the film has great production values and isn't boring. The acting by Heath Ledger and Abbie Cornish is strong, the cinematography is very good, and the movie pacing is good. It is the script and originality that needs work. Maybe it was written by someone from another planet who just learned drugs were bad and is now making a movie about it.
Actually Candy is based on a novel entitled "Candy: A Novel of Love and Addiction" written by Luke Davies. However, the novel was also published in 2006 so surely Davies wasn't just finding this out.
However, I did learn one thing. If I have a daughter I will not name her "Candy." This is probably a bad name unless I want my daughter to become a drug addict, or a stripper (which I don't)
Grading
Story: C
Acting: A- (one good thing about this film is the high quality and believable acting. Yes Heath Ledger, we now realize you aren't actually gay and Brokeback Mountain was just a role. Congratulations)
Visuals: A- (kudos to the cinematographer of the film)
Originality/Innovation: D
Enjoyability: C
Overall: C
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