I don't even know where to begin with this movie. Just saw it tonight. Brilliant thought-provoking, and sooooooooo fucked up. what other movie could take a pedophile and a 14 year-old girl and leave you rooting for the pedophile? wow.

anybody else seen this?


heres the yahoo link for anybody interested.

http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hv&cf=in ... 77&intl=us

I caught this one last night and I don't know what to think of it yet. My first reaction is that the plot was way too contrived, and I found it hard to believe that a 14 year-old girl could be that calculating and clever. But the scenario, as presented, was fascinating.

See she was so clever and so knowledgeable that I thought maybe she wasn't actually 14 and that was a trick as well. She could be a really smart college student who was connected to the victim of the pedophiles who cut her hair and put on some kiddish clothes to try and act the part. I know several of girls who if they cut their hair like that they would look like they were 12. I know its not mentioned in the movie but she was so deceiving that I thought it was possible. I was really impressed with this movie because even though it's been awhile since I've seen it I don't remember it being very gory and there were still times when I had to look away because it was so fucked up.

That's an interesting point. One thing really great about this movie - something I have tremendous respect for in movies though it rarely happens - is the mysterious ending (re: no closure or exposition). We never find out who the girl is or her true motivation. It forces you to think for yourself and draw your own conclusions.

I also really liked the production design, especially the color scheme (this was shot digitally). For a movie that only has 2 or 3 locations and 3 major speaking parts (if you want to even call Sandra Oh's part "major"), the director did a terrific job of not making the movie feel confined. Fits the narrative well.

So this is worth watching then?

Yeah, definitely. I'd recommend it.

this looks really interesting.

Same here, pisses the hell out of my friends though. Can you name a couple movies like this?

how about a pm? maybe some people don't want to know which movies don't have a real ending.....

One that I saw recently that I really liked was the French movie "Cache."

"Lost in translation"

Sorry Cono

I loved the first half hour, hated everything else. I'm used to suspending disbelief, but don't try to sell me a brilliant 14 year-old arch-villian.

Yup.

Both that and Hard Candy are good movies. I watched Hard Candy with some chick and she hated it, but that chick is also a fucking moron.

I watched it tonight. Wasn't great, but I don't regret watching it either. My main problem with the movie is that we spend about an hour and a half watching the girl taunt and try to torture the guy (at least psychologically), and other than the fact that we think he's a pedophile, we don't have solid motivation to hate him. In order to really pull for the girl and see this guy get what's coming to him, I need to actually witness at least a glimpse of this guy being the monster he's supposed to be. At the same time, I like that they didn't make it black and white, and that he was smart, articulate, etc. I don't know, I'll have to give it some more thought.

And I love movies that are so simply made yet engaging. It's basically nothing more than 1 set, 2 actors and a script. If you saved your lunch money and invested the time you could make a movie like this, and that's awesome.

I thought this was an awesome film, it has been a while since I have seen something so thought provoking. I have discussed this with many friends and have found it interesting that the lines between the victim and the perpetrator became so blurred. I also like the way his kiddy fiddler status was implied and not spoon fed to us. I felt this was indicative of the grooming process of a paedophile, in the sense that it leaves the victim second guessing and doubting their own instincts. But I have to say, that I wanted him to die, kinda wish she had have taken off with his balls in her handbag.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again...

Is there any stupider creature on earth than a 14 year-old girl?

This is exactly what I really liked about it - there is no black and white explanations. The audience has no idea which character is lying, or if they both are or neither of them are. If they'd have shown a short flashback, even a second or two, of the guy with an underage girl, it would have totally changed the dynamic of the viewing experience.

That is what I liked about it too, the fact that it kind of turned the traditional victim/perpetrator dichotomy on its head. I found her character extremely unlikable and no empathy for her whatsover. Although I had no real like/dislike for his character, I had more empathy for him and I would've loved to have seen him knock the shit out of her which at the end of the day was a feeling that left a bad taste in my mouth.

A very powerful film but I found it a little too caught up in the escape/recapture/escape scenario that this genre is known for and there were times where I felt the plot to be a little incredulous.

Exactly!

I found myself sympathizing for him, knowing full well that if he had in fact done all the things she was accusing him of (which he obviously did by the end) then I would have wanted to see him get what's coming to him.

To compare to a very different movie, take something like "I Spit On Your Grave". You actually witness the brutality of the main female being raped, and after that, you don't care what she does to exact revenge on these guys. You know they have it coming. Here it wasn't quite so easy, but I would agree that it's part of what made it compelling.