Candy is a 2006 Australian romantic drama film, adapted from Luke Davies's novel Candy: A Novel of Love and Addiction. Candy was directed by debut film-maker Neil Armfield and stars Heath Ledger, Abbie Cornish and Geoffrey Rush.
Candy, produced by Margaret Fink, was released in Australia on 25 May 2006 and subsequently released around the world.
Video Candy (2006 film)
Plot
A poet named Dan (Heath Ledger) 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.
The film is organized in 3 acts of roughly 3 scenes each, titled Heaven, Earth, and Hell:
In Heaven, the young lovers ecstatically experience sex and drugs. Constantly seeking drug money, they borrow from Candy's parents or eccentric university professor Casper (Geoffrey Rush), selling things, stealing, even prostituting when desperate.
In Earth they are married and confront the realities of addiction and family life. Dan purchases the drugs; Candy becomes a prostitute. Dan steals a credit card and gets the owner's PIN, then steals money from his bank funds. Candy becomes pregnant, and despite their efforts to "go clean", the baby is delivered stillborn at 23 weeks. They finally stop taking drugs with huge effort, going through agonizing withdrawal symptoms in the process. Despite poor living conditions, constant struggles for money, and frequent disputes, they love each other very much.
In Hell they experience the dissolution of their relationship and recovery. They choose to move to the country to "try methadone" as a way to ease into a more normal life. After a disastrous Sunday lunch, Candy fights with her parents, breaks down, and screams at them to leave. Eventually, she becomes involved with a neighbor, a fellow drug user, and relapses to her previous lifestyle. She has a complete mental breakdown and becomes extremely distant toward Dan. He looks up Casper again, returning to his prodigal father, and instantly relapsing with his patented "yellow jesus." Dan is informed the next morning of Candy's hospitalization back in Sydney, upon where he finds her in an unresponsive, semi-catatonic state. Dan returns to find Casper has died of a drug overdose; this forces Dan to reconsider his life. While Candy recovers in a clinic, Dan gets clean and gets a dishwashing job. When Candy returns to Dan, he says "There's no going back. If you're given a reprieve, I think it's good to remember just how thin it is" and she stands up and leaves.
Maps Candy (2006 film)
Cast
- Abbie Cornish as Candy
- Heath Ledger as Dan
- Geoffrey Rush as Casper
- Tom Budge as Schumann
- Roberto Meza Mont as Jorge
- Tony Martin as Jim Wyatt
- Noni Hazlehurst as Elaine Wyatt
- Tim McKenzie as Uncle Rod
- Tara Morice as Aunt Katherine
- Maddi Newling as Janey
- Cristian Castillo as Little Angelo
- Paul Blackwell as Phillip Dudley
- Adrienne Pickering as Teller
- Nathaniel Dean as Paul Hillman
- Alicia Hannah as Neighbour
Music
The film featured a version of the Tim Buckley song "Song to the Siren", sung by actress/singer Paula Arundell. It also includes the title track Sugar Man from the debut 1970 album by forgotten Detroit singer-songwriter Sixto Rodriguez.
Reception
The film holds a 49% rating on review site Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 5.8/10, based on 74 reviews. The critical consensus states that "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."
Festivals
- 2006 - Germany - Berlin International Film Festival
- 2006 - Hong Kong International Film Festival
- 2006 - Canada - Toronto International Film Festival
- 2006 - UK - BFI London Film Festival
- 2006 - USA - Milwaukee International Film Festival
- 2007 - Singapore - Singapore International Film Festival
Awards
Won:
- 2006 Australian Writers Guild Awards: Feature Film - Adaptation (Luke Davies with Neil Armfield).
- 2006 Film Critics Circle of Australia: Best Actress in a Lead Role (Abbie Cornish), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Geoffrey Rush).
- 2006 Australian Screen Editors Ellie for Best Editing in a Feature Film Dany Cooper ASE
Nominated:
- 2006 Berlin International Film Festival: Golden Berlin Bear.
- 2006 Film Critics Circle of Australia: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Heath Ledger), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Noni Hazlehurst), Best Film, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Music Score (Paul Charlier).
- 2006 Australian Film Institute Awards: Best Film, Best Actress in a Leading Role (Abbie Cornish), Best Actor in a Leading Role (Heath Ledger), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Geoffrey Rush), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Noni Hazlehurst), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Production Design.
- 2006 Inside Film Awards: Best Actor (Heath Ledger), Best Actress (Abbie Cornish).
References
External links
- Candy official website
- Candy on IMDb
- Heath Ledger interview for Candy
- Candy at the National Film and Sound Archive
Source of article : Wikipedia
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