Quote:
Originally Posted by neverending
I was completely engaged throughout the film, and its morally ambiguous stand had much more impact on me at the end than if, as urge says, they had taken an easy manipulative approach and forced you to accept only one conclusion. As it is, the film seesaws from one question to another, making the viewer actually THINK FOR THEMSELVES about the issues. The steady stream of plot twists and changes in perspective kept me quessing throughout. It's a rare film that actually asks you to think and THAT made the film AMAZING to me.
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I just wanted to let NE, Des, and Urge know that I've really been enjoying the
Hard Candy discussion. I left the movie completely unsure of how I felt about it and how I felt about the characters and reading your thoughts have definitely crystallized a few things for me:
It's silly to think that unlikable characters are the outcome of bad writing or acting (which I tend to think... Then again, it's usually based from your typically bad, flat, 2-dimensional horror flick that's not really there to engage its audience). You're right; the fact that I didn't necessarily empathize with her character was left purposefully vague.
What you DO know:
You have one character who is being accused of doing horrible pedophilic things (all off-scene and accusations, though that he has her over is an indictment of the truth).
You have one character who is DOING horrible things to punish the crimes that we haven't seen.
So, who should the audience connect with? The more that I reflect on the movie, the more that I realize how intelligent it was. I'm glad that you guys brought up these critiques because it made me realize that what I thought were flaws were actually purposeful writing and directorial choices.
There is still one teeny tiny thing that bothers me, though... It's more of a suspend-your-disbelief sort of thing... She's so tiny, skinny, almost to unhealthy proportions. I had a difficult time believing sometimes how easily she was able to overpower him.