Watching Neil Armfield's beautifully directed film Candy is a little like looking through a window and watching pain.
Candy (2006)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:74
Fresh:36
Rotten:38
Average Rating:5.8/10
Consensus: Stars Heath Ledger and Abbie Cornish look better than they should as heroin addicts, and their characters are too absorbed and self-pitying to be totally compelling.
Synopsis: In Neil Armfield's CANDY, Heath Ledger and Abbie Cornish play Dan and Candy, two young bohemians who fall madly in love while shooting heroin together. In the beginning, the couple's days are... In Neil Armfield's CANDY, Heath Ledger and Abbie Cornish play Dan and Candy, two young bohemians who fall madly in love while shooting heroin together. In the beginning, the couple's days are occupied with making love, shoplifting, and having a strung-out wedding day that ends with a lot of giggling over a couple of Big Macs. Despite Candy's disapproving parents, they cling to each other with a fierceness that shuts out any and all outside criticism. When funds or drugs are low they pop by the house of a pharmacology professor named Casper (Geoffrey Rush), who uses his professional expertise to supply them with pharmaceutical-grade heroin. As the reality of their addiction creeps to the forefront, they must turn to desperate measures to get their fix. Candy becomes a prostitute, and Dan a thief and con man. When Candy discovers she's pregnant, they decide to go cold turkey, but the horrific side effects of withdrawal result in a miscarriage. The two tumble into despair, and opt to move to the country to try methadone treatments. Candy's depression soon blooms into a full-blown nervous breakdown, and as her parents finally usher her into rehab, Dan returns to his friend Casper for comfort, only to find him dead of an overdose. Heroin abuse--with its soaring highs and inevitable crash--has been well-documented in many films. However, CANDY brings something fresh to the story with its focus on the doomed junkie love affair. Candy and Dan tumble into each other much in the same way they descend into addiction--with a white-hot, desperate need that blinds them to reality. It's a moving, realistic portrait of how that kind of all-encompassing, obsessive love can sometimes be just as powerful as any drug, and just as hard to kick. [More]
Starring: Heath Ledger, Abbie Cornish, Geoffrey Rush, Paul Blackwell
Starring: Heath Ledger, Abbie Cornish, Geoffrey Rush, Paul Blackwell, Tom Budge, Nathaniel Dean, Sandy Winton
Director: Neil Armfield
Director: Neil Armfield
Producer: Emile Sherman, Margaret Fink
Studio: ThinkFilm
Reviews for Candy
[A] slightly over-familiar but neatly told story of a sexual/romantic passion at once partly fuelled and blighted by drug addiction.
... doesn't have anything new to say. But it takes a quieter, more intently observed approach to the usual stereotypes and the texture of their experience."
Director Armfield coaxes excellent performances from his performers, almost making up for the thinness of the material
Beautifully shot and wonderfully directed, Candy is a gut-wrenching, sobering, and passionate look at relationships, addiction, and one woman's journey down the rabbit hole.
Despite being well made and supremely acted, Candy is a true feel-bad experience.
An excellent, heartfelt film to compare with Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream.
An Australian drama about two lovers addicted to heroin that offers no fresh insights into this obsession.
Ledger’s first film since the one-two punch of Brokeback and Casanova reinforces the almost always accurate admonition “Just say no to drug addiction films.”
Drug addiction is bad. Given the universal consensus on this topic, anyone making a movie about it needs to come up with a fresh approach.
... for a druggie movie, "Candy" is surprisingly dynamic and involving ...
Harrowing and strongly moving, this junkie drama beautifully explores the emotional core of its characters. It helps, of course, that the cast is this good.
Candy is a terribly obvious road-to-ruin movie that's bound to produce cavities.
Both actors are immensely impressive, so perversely appealing that you want them to survive their addiction and keep on with their terrific performances.
... doesn't add anything substantively new to [the story of heroin addiction], though it has been nicely directed by Neil Armfield ...
The performances are good, but it would be hard to recommend this to anyone unless you have a lovely daughter who's dating a sleaze-bag and you want her to watch it as a deterrent.
Dark, depressing and hard to watch at time ... solid performances, especially from Abbie Cornish, who may be the best new actress to materialize this year.
Despite a fine performance by Abbie Cornish (Somersault) in the title role, film belongs to Heath Ledger in terms of narrative and identification.
Latest News for Candy
March 13, 2007:
"Candy" Girl to be Bond's Next Flame?
Just in time for the DVD release of "Casino Royale" comes word, via IGN, of rumors regarding who'll vamp it up opposite Daniel Craig in the inevitable next Bond movie.... More...
December 07, 2006:
A Few Random "Dark Knight" Nuggets
Poor Heath Ledger is out there on the circuit trying to promote his indie flick "Candy" -- and all he's getting are "The Dark Knight" questions! Ah well, I... More...
More Movies
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 50% 50% | It's Complicated | 07/1 |
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Sponsored Links
Fresh Links
Featured

Last week, Moviefone offered us their worst films of the 2000s. Now see their 40 best!
Competitions

Tickets and more to win for the forthcoming Wes Anderson film



Top Critic


