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Candy (R)





Release Date: November 17th, 2006 (Angelika Film Center) by THINKfilm.
The Cast: Heath Ledger, Abbie Cornish, Geoffrey Rush, Tony Martin, Noni Hazlehurst, Tom Budge, Roberto Meza Mont, Damon Herriman.
Directed by Neil Armfield.

BASIC PREMISE: Dan (Ledger) falls in love with Candy (Cornish), but their addiction to drugs threatens their relationship.

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: Everything begins rather tranquil for Dan and Candy as they begin their romantic relationship and have plenty of chemistry—until the drugs get in the way. At that point, they both go on a slippery slope even though they dream of doing other things instead of taking drugs—i.e., getting a job. Dan wants to be a poet. Geoffrey Rush plays Casper, a friend of theirs who supplies them with drugs. It’s not quite clear how they met Casper, though. The main problem with this film is not just that you know where the plot will end, but that the screenplay by writer/director Neil Armfield doesn’t allow you to care about any of its dull, one-dimensional characters. Also, unlike in Requiem for a Dream or Trainspotting, the many scenes when they take drugs seem rather meandering and boring. It would have been refreshing to add some dark comedy, at least. Abbie Cornish does give a radiant performance as Candy and Heath Ledger does his best, but neither can save Candy from over-dosing on dreary, unimaginative scenes that continuously show their chaotic trip to madness without much light at the end of the tunnel.

SPIRITUAL VALUE: None, other than not to buy drugs—or become a celebrity and then you get them for free, as a character in Love Actually jokes.

INSULT TO YOUR INTELLIGENCE: Meandering and unimaginative.

NUMBER OF TIMES I CHECKED MY WATCH: 8
IN A NUTSHELL: Abbie Cornish’s radiant performance doesn’t compensate for the meandering, consistently dreary and unimaginative plot.

RECOMMENDED WAY TO WATCH: TV


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