Candy (2006)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Neil Armfield

Writers:

Luke Davies (novel) and
Neil Armfield (writer)

Release Date:

25 May 2006 (Australia)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

More is never enough.

Plot:

A poet falls in love with an art student who gravitates to his bohemian lifestyle -- and his love of heroin. Hooked as much on one another as they are on the drug, their relationship alternates between states of oblivion, self-destruction, and despair.

Plot Keywords:

Love | Heroin | Money | Drug | Despair

Awards:

4 wins & 16 nominations

Cast

Abbie Cornish	...	Candy
Heath Ledger	...	Dan
Geoffrey Rush	...	Casper
Tom Budge	...	Schumann
Roberto Meza-Mont	...	Jorge (as Roberto Meza Mont)
Tony Martin	...	Jim Wyatt
Noni Hazlehurst	...	Elaine Wyatt
Holly Austin	...	Sunglasses Shop Assistant
Craig Moraghan	...	Washing Machine Dealer
John Lee	...	Hock Shop Man
Noel Herriman	...	Celebrant
Tim McKenzie	...	Uncle Rod
Tara Morice	...	Aunt Katherine
Maddi Newling	...	Janey
Patricia Lemon	...	Wedding Guest

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive depiction of drug addiction, disturbing images, language, sexual content and nudity.

Runtime:

Australia:116 min | UK:108 min | USA:108 min | Hong Kong:108 min | UK:108 min (uncut)

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:MA (re-rating) | New Zealand:R18 | USA:R | Hong Kong:IIB | UK:15 | Italy:VM14 | Netherlands:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:M18 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:16 | Japan:R-15 | South Korea:18 | Ireland:18 | Norway:15 (TV rating) | Australia:R

Filming Locations:

Australia

Company:

Film Finance

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Dan is sitting in the shower, the tattoo (which was real and was blacked out for some reason -- it is actually a cluster of planets) on his shoulder smudges and transfers to the shower tile. The next scene it is intact.

Quotes:

Casper: This is Jorge. Very limited English, but very large penis! Isn't that right Jorge?
Jorge: [shrugs] ... okay.

Movie Connections:

References Tarzan the Ape Man (1932)

Soundtrack:

Sugar Man

Great film amid tired drug-genre

'Candy' will probably garner several AFI awards later this year. Ledger is Dan, a troubled and likable juvenile-come-poet who is in love with Cornish's Candy, a sometimes-practicing artist who falls head first in love with Dan and heroin. Ledger's understated performance gives Dan a boyish vulnerability that would otherwise leave him less sympathetic. And his ability to use his face and especially his eyes to communicate Dan's uncanny reluctance is both staggering and understandable. There are many moments where silence is used to express emotions in this film and Armfield deserves to be commended for his restraint and trust in his actors and the narrative. The script by co-writer and author Davies is decidedly different from the novel but nonetheless strong and taut. It's rarely melodramatic and has been manipulated more for it's performers and their execution on screen rather than resigning itself as merely an adaptation of a great novel. The result here provides superb cinematic balance. Cornish too is brilliant, often abrasive as the troubled artist. Rush is also amazing and understated as Casper, Dan's older homosexual friend. Hazelhurst reprises her role in 'Little Fish' but to less effect. She is great, but those who have seen 'Little Fish' will find her casting a little too convenient. Martin too is good with the little he is dealt. The only thing that stops 'Candy' from being superb is the material. It is too familiar and the characters are too stereotypical. Had this film been made before countless others in the 'drug-film' genre this would have been more refreshing (although the denouement is a much welcomed change). But sadly it isn't. This in turn is nobody's fault. It's just been exploited too many times. The only thing that isn't stereotypical is Dan who is the backbone of the narrative. Ledger has made it his own and could have mimicked any drug-stricken angsty protagonist the 'genre' has spat out. Instead he has made him a hero.