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Candy is a hearbreaking film that can be quite hard to watch because of the drug addiction and the suffering that Dan and Candy went through. It is a very powerful film from the word "go" when the film started. It was very emotional as well with a very important message. Candy is a film that does have a rather bright title but when you look into it and watch it, it is a very dark story. It is like a couple version of Trainspotting. It is a gut-wretching film with all the pain, suffering and upsets that are featured within this film. I was gripped with this film all the way through without getting bored of it. It shows the beauty of love. They do have arguments and fights quite regularly because I know they love each other.
The acting from both Abbie Cornish and the late Heath Ledger were absolutely amazing. Their top notch performances didn't earn any credit as far as awards are concerned. I could feel the love as well as the confliction between Candy and Dan. Also, because Cornish and Ledger are Australian they are awesome fits for the characters. Also, Geoffrey Rush is Australian. Abbie Cornish portrayed Candy like how Ewan McGregor portrayed Renton in Trainspotting. Cornish was really heartfelt where you could call Candy a "selfish, bitchy whore" and can feel sorry for her because they were both desperate. Because her and her boyfriend Dan are "junkies" she earns their money by sleeping "with men she hates". Her performance made the character so realistic. Heath's performance as Dam was absolutely fantastic as well. Dan is a young man who is a would-be poet who is also addicted to heroin. Heath portrayed Dan like no other actor could. This is another film that showed the talent that Heath really had. To me, both Cornish and Ledger's performance should have been worth or at least been close to an Oscar, Golden Globe or BAFTA nominations. In my book, they are both contenders. The chemistry between the two characters was so powerful it would make you feel really tight in your seat.
Neil Armfield directed this film remarkably with such force that makes it feel like the two characters were real and a new type of film had been born. If a director like Danny Boyle or Spike Jonze directed it, it might've been a lot like any of their films and how they make them. The only thing that was a bit flawed was that there were different events going on at the same time which was a bit too much. Also I didn't fully understand the ending and I think it left quite a few unanswered questions.
Overall, Candy is a disturbing, romantic and beautiful film that deserves more than one viewing from everybody. This is a very underrated Heath Ledger performance. This is a third masterpiece from him. I loved his acting once again in Candy but his acting is better in Brokeback Mountain and especially The Dark Knight. I think Candy is the first Abbie Cornish film I have seen and I am going to watch some more films from her after her really impressive performance. I will definitely watch Candy again in the future and it will be worth 1 hour 40 minutes just as it will be worth yours too.
8/10
