Candy

"We had a lot going for us. We'd found the secret glue that held all things together. In a perfect place, where the noise did not intrude, our world was so very complete."

Candy is an incredibly beautiful and powerful drama that kept me engrossed and compelled within the story for the entire length of the film. Within this potent film is a life drama full of love, drugs and an inseparable bond between two people.

The reason I picked up Candy to begin with was the fact that Heath Ledger has the lead role, but as this finished I found that I had witnessed much more than the gripping performance by him; but also one of the most expressive and affecting stories that I have ever seen. Heath Ledger is Dan, a poet who is very much in love with an art student; Candy. The two of them share the same lifestyle of an addiction to heroin and a lack of money. As the story goes on, it becomes clear that the only thing that matters to them is each other, and they will go to the extremes in order to stay with each other; nothing else matters. This has been done before - perhaps many times, but never to the extent that Candy has achieved. Usually this would start off with the meeting of the two, and then show how their two lives are affected as they change their lifestyle to be with each other. But this is much different, much more interesting and intriguing. We start off with the two of them already indivisible from each other, already as passionate towards each other as they are addicted to the drug. We then travel deeper into the story and meaning of the film, the consequences of the drug and their lifestyle appear and desperation takes place, causing them to give up everything but their love for each other.
Although the whole of this film is touching and strong, there were certainly parts which were especially emotional and heartrending. The brilliant performances from the actors combined with the innovative and convincing story was arousing to an extent that I had never seen before, making the viewing mesmerizing and beautiful to watch. The directing by Neil Armfield created the atmosphere needed - both gripping and striking to watch. Something I didn't know before watching Candy, was that it is in fact based a novel - 'Candy: A Novel of Love and Addiction' by Luke Davies. And it's that compelling story that holds the whole film together, that is the basis of this film which I have loved, and now I am more than interested in reading it.

The soundtrack of Candy somehow added to the realism of the story and perfectly matched with the events at the time. This kind of thing is often overlooked with a story like this, but I certainly appreciated it. During various scenes the score made the entire film more influential and absorbing, which is exactly what was needed to make this film even better than what could have been achieved.

Heath Ledger was exceptional and Unparalleled, exceeding everything I would have expected from him. This has to be one of his best performances that I have seen, and watching this has made me admire him for his talents, as well as distressed that he had so much more to offer that we will never see. Abbie Cornish was incredible for her role as Candy, creating a character that had my sympathy as she expressed every emotion perfectly and spoke every line to a level that was incomparable. The chemistry between Ledger and Cornish was also something that can't be compared, the two of them together on screen is hard to describe - they have talent together that is very rare to see. Geoffrey Rush was a nice addition to the cast, and I felt he gave an incredible performance which was needed for his role. Overall, the acting in Candy can simply be described as brilliant and potent. A cast perfectly fitted to the characters, all giving moving performances.

In the end, Candy was a riveting and expressive film that I am very glad to have seen. Full of amazing performances and an interesting and unique story, this is a film that really should be seen by all fans of dramas and love stories. Of course, if you are a fan of Heath Ledger then this is a film that you simply can't ignore. A successful Australian drama film.

8/10