Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Kodie Bird True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Adeel Hail Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Taha Avalos The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Alex Deleon Viewed at Berlin, February. 14, 2006 Heath Ledger Rides Again -- The big conference of the day came at the six-thirty mark, after a press screening of "Candy" which features "Brokeback Mountain" star Heath Ledger. Needless to say, Heath being one of the hottest actors around today, everybody here was anxious to get a look at him close-up, and were certainly not disappointed as the young Australian actor was most forthcoming and open in response to the questions fired at him from all sides of the room. In the current picture Heath plays a rather hopeless heroin addict who falls in love with a very beautiful young lady who marries him and also, into the bargain, picks up his smack habit. Before long she (the "Candy" of the title) is working as a fifty dollar a shot prostitute to finance the couple's collective need for the drug. Pert blonde actress Abbie Cornish is a real find and actually steals the show (more or less) from top -billed Ledger.This fetching gal looks something like a cross between CharlizeTheron and Scarlett Johanssen, and besides her astounding good looks, can also act! The entire "Candy" team was on hand, including the two stars, director Neil Armfield, the writer of the novel on which the screenplay was based, the screenwriter, and a couple of producers. Only Geoffrey Rush, who was the main supporting actor, (as an addicted professor of biology) was absent.Considering that "Candy" is pretty much a straight-forward story of drug addiction and how it ruins young lives, I found it rather depressing with nothing new to say on the subject. Heath Ledger really doesn't have that much to do in the pic other than look pained most of the time with that now patented "Brokeback Mountain" look of deeply suppressed anguish, In this film, however, the pain is not so suppressed as Heath breaks out into tears on several occasions. One of the cute questions from the audience was "How do you manage to cry so easily on cue?" — shrug — <<"It's part of the job.>> In person Heath Ledger does not come across with the aura of a Movie Star, but rather as a good old boy who enjoys his job — acting — and does it pretty damn well. One droll question from an Asian lady in the audience -- obvious but inevitable -- was "does it feel very different to kiss a man (as in Brokeback Mountain) and to kiss a woman, as in this film?" Heath elected to take the question seriously and went on at length about his role in the Ang Lee "gay cowboy" picture, concluding that, once you get over the initial embarrassment, "It's just a case of kissing another human being, the main difference coming down to the stubble" — which brought a roar of appreciation.

JoeC345 I've seen this movie a few times now over the years, and each time it grows on me more and more. It joins the other few films of it's sort; Requiem for a Dream, Trainspotting, etc. Movies that treat drug addiction in a real sense are few and far between. The difference between these films and others is that the character's show the true desperation of such addictions.This is one of those movies that rely's heavily on it's performance's and in that respect Heath Ledger is amazing. The raw feeling that he brings to his character shows that he really was one of the best actors of his generation. Looking at the difference's is the roles he played from William Thatcher in "A Knight's Tale" and Sonny Grotowski in "Monster's Ball". Geoffrey Rush, who is one of my favorite actors, gives another of his famous performances that he makes his own. Hint to all the reader's out there if you see a role and can't imagine anyone else in that role, then that actor or actress has done there job perfectly.This sort of movie requires very little description here. It's about a couple and their friends that have an addiction to heroin. The dialogue that is given to describe such acts is almost pitch perfect for what it should be. Watching the quick view at the top and the slow but steady drop in despair is how these movies usually go. So sometimes it's no surprise what happens but in the way in happens is the real achievement in this film. When a film shows such depravity sometimes it disturbs me and it is no different here. However the difference here is that I actually had empathy for the character's on the screen.

BernardoLima 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 is one of the most beautiful and poignant films I have seen lately. It's extremely rare for me to feel the need to re-watch a film immediately after the first viewing but that's exactly what happened with Candy. I didn't, of course. I rather let the film sink in and then watch it again after a couple of weeks or months but it goes to show you how much I enjoyed the film. Candy starts with the two main characters entering some sort of rotating device ( a futuristic carousel if you will) along with a bunch of kids while the famous "Song to the Siren" plays on the background. From that moment I knew I was watching something special and I also knew that Candy, just like the rotating device, would be a hell of a ride. And I was right. The film is a realistic portrayal of what addiction does to people and shows the several stages of Dan and Candy's relationship. Because of its realism, the film can be hard to watch at times but I think every single scene in the film is absolutely necessary to tell the story effectively. Candy was beautifully shot and the soundtrack is mesmerizing. There's a lot of conceptual scenes that add to the depth and poignancy of the film and that show the director's unique vision. Yes, heroin abuse has been documented in many films but there's something very special and beautiful about Candy. Both Ledger and Cornish deliver terrific performances. They displayed a huge amount of talent and it was some of the finest acting I have ever seen. I think it's absurd how Heath won an Oscar for his performance as the Joker in The Dark Knight (which I thought was completely average) and yet, his brilliant work in Candy was completely over-looked. Overall, a touching, entertaining and absolutely beautiful film that I strongly recommend.9.5/10

bob-lin Having seen Armfield's work in the theatre, Rush's on both stage and screen, and Cornish's in "Somersault", I came to Candy expecting big things. However, I found that the film took Australian cinema nowhere new. Once again we have the intrusive, over-used score, patronising the audience by telling us what to feel. Once again the long slow moments of blank faces. Our directors are never shy with clichés: we knew it was coming scene after scene. We could predict Cornish's hand to the mirror, the misunderstood angst of youth running from the clutches of a vulgar capitalist middle class. Here we go with the older generation, insensitive to the complexities of the artist and the poet, with outlandish expectations of stability and responsibilities.Cornish is very comfortable in the role of the angst-ridden alienated youth, where the camera loves her, and the long silences and often strident soundtrack make less demands of an actor than a script with depth and power. Ledger was as convincing in the role of the poet (albeit drug addled) as my mailman. Where was the script that enabled either of the two leads to convince us that they were driven by any kind of creative impulses. Artist? Poet? Were they even literate? The text of the voice overs was self conscious in a schoolboy poet way. But did Ledger's character read any books,ever? And as for Cornish as the tortured artist, come on! Her burst of creative literacy with the lipstick was one of the most unconvincing moments of the movie. Could this swearing monosyllabic drug addict really be hit so suddenly with the muse of poesy? Cornish is a talented young actress who demonstrated early, her willingness to work in the Australian film industry. She deserves more complex scripts, less clichéd roles and tighter directing.Did anyone else out there find Heath Ledger's voice-overs embarrassing and quaint? Did the director actually make him do that? I found Ledger's acting to be unsubtle and inconsistent. Someone should have noticed the shifts in accent and pitch, the over working of the facial expressions. Did I imagine it, or did someone choose to use Mozart's music in this film? Oh the mighty melodrama of it all. Isn't it time Australian film got past such self-conscious scripts. Time to move forward as film makers and learn a very powerful technique for making powerful films: subtlety and understatement. The best European directors discovered it decades ago!P.S. Did anyone do any research on sexual dysfunction and heroin addicts?