Part of Queer Qlassics
Wed, Jul 31 at 8:00pm: Post-screening discussion with Jenn Adams, writer and co-host of The Lady Killers: A Feminine Rage Podcast, and Dr. Aimi Hamraie, Associate Professor of Medicine, Health, & Society and American Studies at Vanderbilt University | BUY TICKETS
Fourteen-year-old Hayley Stark (Elliot Page) meets 32-year-old groomer (and photographer) Jeff Kohlver (Patrick Wilson) in an online chatroom. After explicit exchanges, Hayley meets Jeff in person, which leads to Jeff inviting Hayley to his home for a private fashion shoot. After Jeff begins to ply the teen with alcohol, Hayley turns the tables on her predator, enacting a duplicitous, feminist revenge plot.
“In HARD CANDY, the only person we see suffer is a privileged professional white man.” —Rebecca Stringer, Feminism at the Movies “Despite the postfeminist prohibitions on female violence, it is noticeable that [HARD CANDY] explore[s] the rebellion and containment of teenage girls.” —Frances Smith, Rethinking the Hollywood Teen Movie “A spectacular performance by [Elliot] Page elevates this disturbing slice of designer shocksploitation into a film that's impossible to dismiss on principle.” —Todd McCarthy, Variety
