Candy [DVD]

A powerful film with believable performances by Ledger, Cornish and Rush. Sad that drugs stilled Ledgers voice and ironic as well.

This movie depicts the exact damage that drugs and addiction have on people. So accurate.

Dear Heath Ledger,Thank you for blessing the world with your talent and good nature. You were gone too soon.'Candy' follows the story of a poet named Dan (Heath Ledger) whom falls in love with an art student named Candy (Abbie Cornish) 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 is alternating states of oblivion, self-destruction, and despair.I think it's only fair to start with an aspect of this movie I didn't like. It's actually really closer to ambivalence than dislike, but I thought 'Candy''s character was missing some much needed character development in order to embrace the impression of her the director would like for us to. We are given bits and pieces regarding Candy's life before Dan but for a majority of the movie she appears as far deep in the drug use cycle as her intimate partner. This itself isn't necessarily a flaw on it's own, but if the audience is supposed to 'buy' this story that Dan is the "cause" of Candy's addiction than that backstory is absolutely needed to ease the audience in to the conclusion in a way that is seamless and feels natural.That said, the insidious nature of addiction and substance abuse is captured perfectly in this film. The cinematography and dialogue make the desperation and hopelessness this couple experience over time exceptionally palpable. There's no attempt to drag these characters in a way that denies dignity to their situation, and it endorses the reality of the seemingly normal life that people with addictive behaviors can experience on the outside looking in.The imagery of the merry-go-round that Dan and Candy are riding when this film begins and ends serves as a metaphorical representation of the cyclic and poignant nature of substance abuse.I would recommend!

Prepare to feel uncomfortable and heartbroken but in the best way - you know what you're getting into with a movie like this, I think. This story cuts deep... soo so good

Superb acting by all, especially Heath Ledger.

This isn't pretty but it's beautiful. It's two people who have a deep connection and truly love each other. You can feel it. The problem is they enable each other in dangerous ways. It looks like one is stronger but by the end of the movie you doubt that. You've got a a great screenplay that rings true from start to finish. There is no point in this movie that feels contrived or false. The characters are believable and sympathetic. It's a good story with a message that proceeds in a logical, almost inevitable way. The acting is world-class. Ledger is great, Cornish is magnificent and Rush is perfect. Overall it's soulful, well-paced and sad but it's not totally tragic. Unforgettable.

I absolutely love this movie! I've seen most of the movies the late Heath Ledger made and "Candy" is one of my favorites. The movie takes place in Australia and is about a heroin-addicted couple, Dan and Candy, who are in love. Their addiction not only creates much drama and pain for themselves but for those who love them as well. The movie is dark in much the same way as the 1987 film "Barfly" with Mickey Rourke and Faye Dunaway is but lighter. In the end there is redemption. Abbie Cornish plays Candy and Geoffrey Rush plays Casper, an older man who is their friend, benefactor, and dope peddler. Despite the brokenness of the three characters -- Dan, Candy, and Casper -- they sincerely love each other. Unfortunately, they love heroin more and will do anything from prostitution to theft in order to obtain it. The three actors are Australian. I haven't seen Heath Ledger act in a film wherein he can speak in his native Australian accent. It's lovely to hear. However, I wish the movie was subtitled or captioned in English for the hearing impaired because for an American like me it was difficult at times to follow the Australian dialogue. The acting is superb, especially from the three. Heath Ledger in particular portrays a weak, vulnerable yet loving character I'd never before seen him perform, with the possible exception of "Monster's Ball". If you're a Heath Ledger fan as I am, I think this is a movie you'll want to add to your collection.

I think this is America today

Candy is a masterpiece about love and addiction. It started filming on January 27, 2005 and was released on February 15, 2006. Candy is 1.000 times better than Trainspotting (and Trainspotting was really good) and 1.000 times less known than Trainspotting. Candy is a touching and strong love story full of despair, hope, regrets, dreams & failures. The story does not try to judge, punish or teach. There are no good and bad guys. Candy is a human and honest portrayal of the hell of heroine, a story about real love and a movie that will break your heart into a million pieces. Heath describes the movie like “a film of love (…) not a story about heroine”. Heath explains: “Heroine is involved but I think that the beauty of this film [is that] it’s not exploding heroine or glorifying it in any way (…) It’s a tragic story of love”. Director Neil Armfield was a bit hesitant about using Heath as Dan, since he thought that Heath had a natural energy that was heroic, and Dan was grubby and edgy. But, again, it was Heath’s performance in Monter’s Ball that “got him” the role. Luke Davies (the writer of the book upon which the movie is based and screenwriter of the movie, together with director Neil Armfield) wrote a beautiful and touching article about Heath after Heath’s death; he describes Heath as a talented, generous, kind and sincere human being, and says: “It was Monster’s Ball that convinced Neil Armfield that Ledger was the one for Candy“. What attracted Heath to the project was the novel, which he describes like a “tragic love affair with both the drug and each other”, the screenplay and the fact of being allowed to use his own accent, which he didn’t do since Two Hands and 10 things I hate about you: “shooting a film using my own accent was attractive … I haven’t done that for 8 years. I was looking forward to feeling liberated from … having to perform with an accent … It was a sense of freedom. I was able to mumble in my own accent, to breath in my own accent, to improvise freely”. Abbie Cornish gives a breathtaking performance. Heath says about Abbie: “… she’s incredibly talented … She relies a lot upon … instinct and the magic of the scene, and she keeps it real and she’s a very grounded human being, very talented obviously, very beautiful… I could not have asked for a better Candy”. I must say that Abbie is the strongest and most brilliant female character of all of Heath’s movies. I’d go further and say that two of the most beautifully portrayed love stories in cinema history are the ones of Ennis and Jack, and Candy and Dan. Candy is a real jewel. Director Armfield is awesome and the cast (Heath, Abbie and Geoffrey Rush) is superb / Antonia Tejeda Barros (Spain).P.S. Unfortunately, the DVD does not have ENGLISH subtitles and, if English is not your native language (like it happens to be in my case), sometimes there are words that are difficult to understand, due to the Aussie accent and slang. The DVD is packed with very exciting EXTRAS.

« When I first met Candy, those were like the days of "juice" when everything was bountiful (…)«Here is the deepest secret nobody knows. Here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows higher than soul can hope or mind can hide.And this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart... I carry your heart, I carry it in my heart.(…). 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… »Brilliant, realistic, intense, intelligent movie ! Soul shocking performances by both Heath Ledger and Abbie Cornish. They are absolutely brilliant !A very strong movie... So many intense feelings... A pure piece of art from Australia...RIP Heath. We miss you so much.!

Abbie Cornish once again proves that she is an incredibly talented young actor, and Heath Ledger is excellent too.It's a story that's been told many times before, but their portrayal of a young couple in love spiralling deeper and deeper into drug addiction is exemplary. This is a gruelling film that spares us none of the details of the humiliation and indignities addicts will put themselves through to feed their habit, yet it's told with such compassion and complete lack of judgement, that you desperately want these two young people to pull through and live 'happy ever ever'.Add to this great direction, clever camera work and a moving supporting performance from Geoffrey rush and you've got a film that's well worth watching.

Shocking story that will prevent anyone thinking of heroin from doing heroin. Couple of scenes explained are so graphic that it brought me to tears. Very good read.

I bought this movie as I read a review in Empire magazine about it and I love Heath Ledger. I knew it was going to be a difficult movie to watch as it was about drug addiction. I was stunned by the effect this film had on me. I don't want to watch it again but I will never forget it. I am totally sympathetic to people to suffer with addictions and this film has just confirmed my thoughts on this. People don't intend to become addicts. They just slip into it and can't get out. An amazing movie.