Andrew McMurtryREVIEW: Candy (2005)
October 19th 2008 11:45
“Candy” is a love story. A love story between two characters who happen to be heavy drug users who have to lie, cheat and steal to get money to fuel their addiction. The idea has been done before but “Candy” is a harsh truth to anyone who isn’t involved in the growing trend towards a drug culture in Australian society. The depictions of a couple whose moods and emotions are erratic as they struggle with the demands of their addiction are striking and slightly harrowing for non-drug users.
“Candy” is a quality film as it carries a heavy social responsibility. This is a comment upon the way that Australian society is headed if something is not done to curb this culture that Australians seem to be developing. This is a film that says something about what it means to live in Australia now as our changing global views have allowed an increase in the instances of drug taking and risk taking behaviour. It also deals with the issue of mental illness in Australians in general, not just in drug users, but comments that you are more likely to gain a mental illness if you take drugs regularly.
There are some brilliant performances from Heath Ledger, Abbie Cornish and Geoffrey Rush. Ledger plays Dan, a poet whose charm woos the beautiful artist Candy played by Abbie Cornish. Dan is the apologetic but in love beau who always stays faithful and true to Candy. Candy is obviously more affected by drugs than Dan as she is a dynamically changing, moody woman who can get angry and violent or be completely submissive in the blink of an eye. Both of these people have a growing appetite for heroin but need money to fuel it. It begins with asking Candy’s parents and Casper (Geoffrey Rush) for money but quickly moves on to stealing a washing machine and selling it. Eventually it goes on to pawning Candy’s grandmother’s ring. This leads to Candy becoming a prostitute and Dan stealing a man’s identity to get them some money. As they become more dependent on the heroin that they enjoy so much, Candy and Dan begin to spiral down into the abyss of their addiction. There is a great role from Geoffrey Rush as Casper as the extravagantly gay professor who fuels the habit of Candy and Dan by creating heroin for them. He is the supporting role of the friend who helps them out, even though it is detrimental to their well-being.
This film shows drugs being used to get away from reality. The reality is that their lives would be better apart, as Candy, a pretty, seemingly bright girl, has settled into a relationship based on taking drugs, without which she cannot function. This is shown when they move to the country after they get clean and their relationship falls apart. It is trying to show how bad some of these relationships are and how much drugs can screw up, not only your life, but the lives of the people you love.
This movie really opened my eyes to the drug culture in Australia. It really is a shocking movie and, as I said before, has some simply outstanding performances from Heath Ledger, Abbie Cornish and Geoffery Rush. I would give this movie a 4.5 out of 5. It was simply outstanding.
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Comment by Cibbuano
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An interesting film, one where Ledger gets to relax his accent a little.