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Candy (2005)

tomatometer

49

Average Rating: 5.8/10
Reviews Counted: 74
Fresh: 36 | Rotten: 38

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.

56

Average Rating: 6.1/10
Critic Reviews: 25
Fresh: 14 | Rotten: 11

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.

audience

77

liked it
Average Rating: 3.8/5
User Ratings: 23,626

My Rating

Movie Info

A free-spirited art student and a roguish poet find their addiction to each other taking a back seat to their taste for heroin in director Neil Armfield's intensely personal tale of recreational drug use gone bad. When Candy (Abbie Cornish) and Dan (Heath Ledger) first fell in love, they both thought they had found all they ever needed in life. Despite financial hardships, the pair sustained themselves on the vibrant life force that burned blindingly bright as it promised an invincible future.

R, 1 hr. 48 min.

Drama, Romance

Neil Armfield, Luke Davies

Mar 27, 2007

ThinkFilm

All Critics (79) | Top Critics (26) | Fresh (39) | Rotten (39) | DVD (17)

Undeniably affecting.

January 12, 2007 Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | Comment
Detroit Free Press
Top Critic IconTop Critic

There's no moment that truly feels original until Candy's climactic breakdown at the end of the movie. By then, it's too late.

December 30, 2006 Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | Comment
Arizona Republic
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For all its depiction of a descent into drug addiction, Candy is filled with surprisingly sweet moments and goes down more easily than seems possible given the subject matter.

December 15, 2006 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | Comment
San Francisco Chronicle
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Both actors are immensely impressive, so perversely appealing that you want them to survive their addiction and keep on with their terrific performances.

December 14, 2006 Comment
Minneapolis Star Tribune
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There's a formula here, and it's not the liquid being shot into popping veins.

December 1, 2006 Comment
Philadelphia Inquirer
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...Because we never had a strong handle on who all these people were at the beginning, it's difficult to care about whether they're capable of redemption in the end.

December 1, 2006 Full Review Source: Associated Press | Comment
Associated Press
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Davies has no new insights into the heroin spiral, but this silly melodrama benefits from the palpable chemistry between Ledger and Cornish

May 15, 2009 Full Review Source: I.E. Weekly | Comment
I.E. Weekly

THINKFilm's DVD presentation is overall very good.

July 10, 2007 Full Review Source: DVD Review | Comment
DVD Review

... Candy is a rewarding experience. It may not be one that you will want to return to any time soon, but it is one that you will not soon forget.

July 10, 2007 Full Review Source: DVD Review | Comment
DVD Review

Though not exactly a feelgood flick, Candy is a quite compelling cautionary tale which presents a plausible, if arresting, picture of what life might be like for a couple of co-dependent drug addicts with monkeys on their backs.

March 26, 2007 Full Review Source: NewsBlaze | Comment
NewsBlaze

Without real characters or a fresh take on drug addiction, Candy has little to recommend it for anyone who's seen The Basketball Diaries or Requiem for a Dream.

February 6, 2007 Full Review Source: Film Journal International | Comment
Film Journal International

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.

January 19, 2007 Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | Comment

Hands up if you don't know that drugs are bad for you.

January 11, 2007 Full Review Source: Las Vegas Weekly | Comment

... it feels more like something out of American cinema from the late 1960s or early 70s [and] may say more about the state of Australian film than anything else.

January 11, 2007 Full Review Source: Murphy's Movie Reviews | Comment (1)
Murphy's Movie Reviews

"Candy" won't make anyone forget "Trainspotting" (1996) or "Requiem for a Dream" (2000), but nor will "Candy" let those who see it soon forget the experience.

January 11, 2007 Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | Comment
Arizona Daily Star

The question is whether "Candy" is intended to be an honest and unflinching look at the junkie life, or merely trying to top "Trainspotting" and its ilk.

January 4, 2007 Full Review Source: Capital Times (Madison, WI) | Comment (1)
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Candy

17/07/2010 (TELEVISION)A pretty emotional flick. This film took me downhill with them and I couldn't stand the hopelessness.It's a terrific drama and I love these ones that are able to extract your feelings.I felt this was also educational in a way because now I'm aware of the impact that drugs can have.

July 17, 2010
EightThirty

Super Reviewer

It's no Requiem for a Dream, but it's an effective viewing of the price you pay when addicted to drugs. It has good performances too. After watching this and Requiem in a short period of time, I don't think I can possibly even imagine doing drugs in any form. These films have done their job.

August 3, 2009
jlewis07

Super Reviewer

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