Disturbing movie, but entertaining. Again like with knock knock, I find it hard to believe Ellen Page could over power him.

I find it hard to believe Ellen Page could over power him.

Did she ever use physical force on him?

It's amazing what/how you can do to immobilize someone if you've studied "the right books/movies/manuals." Then, there's that revelation near the end, which confirmed what I thought of "Hayley's" level of experience. (I've seen "The Tale" before this much older movie, so I was OK with what happened to him.)

I hate scenario twists, when one person knocks down another and then runs away to get a [pistol], then to kill with a [pistol]. If Jeff wanted to kill Hayley, why did he waste time to get pistol, he could just beat her with his feet until she lost consciousness (and win! This is exactly what happens in a real fight)

And more — how did he even know that the gun was uncovered? If not, how was he going to get pistol out of the box under the bed with his hands tied up?

This [mistake] was ruined the whole action.

@vox said:

WARNING!!!!

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!

YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!!

Even those who have never heard the name Elisabeth Kubler-Ross probably know the five stages of grief she described: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Those stages also describe Jeff's character arc in "Hard Candy."

Denial: After he's drugged and tied in the chair, most of what he says is pure denial. He makes excuses and comes up with reasons for his behavior, all lies, like why he didn't talk to the women in the chat room as soon as he found out they were older than Hayley. He says, "I'm a decent guy, ask anyone." Can't get much more textbook than that when it comes to denial.

Anger: We see flashes of this througout, but very soon after the line quoted above, Hayley starts really tearing into him and his anger rises to the surface. Cut to scene in bedroom, and we see, while he is still trying to convince her that she's wrong, his anger is barely contained now, his denials are not calm and reasonable any longer, but screamed at her. From that point on, anger tinges everything. Hayley even mocks him, saying, "A little angry, are we?"

Bargaining: This one should be obvious. He's tied to a table. She tells him she's going to castrate him. He begs. He pleads. He promises he'll turn himself in, he'll do anything she wants. Actually, even before he knows what she's planning, he tells her to call the cops, he'll go to jail.

Depression: This is a tough one, because it's hard to keep the action moving, but while Hayley is "castrating" Jeff, he lies there, dormant, silent. The fight has gone out of him. When she asks him if he wants some souveniers, holding his "testicles" in front of him, he doesn't respond. He cries. But, life goes on and he's not down for the count. Denial and anger return, especially anger.

Acceptance: "You're right. You're right, Hayley. Thank you. Thank you. This is me. This is who I am. Thank you. Thank you for helping me see it." Directly from the film.

Of course, after that, there's only one stage left to go: death.

From the moment he woke up, or at least from the moment that he figured out just what Hayley knew about him, Jeff, like someone given a terminal diagnosis, knew that his life was over. For her part, Hayley was as steady and constant as a disease, eating away at him. Or, if you prefer, an avenging angel of death. She offered him no comfort, no solace, no understanding, but only the one option that would cure him--the grave. The one time she seems to sincerely apologize it's for teasing him. She shouldn't have, she says, let him think that there was a way out. Even as he dances at the end of a rope, she doesn't give him any peace, revealing that she isn't going to clean anything up and that in death everyone will know just what he is.

The viewer is left to wonder whether or not he has the time to accept this final new reality of his short life.

LOVED IT too! Brilliant analysis. LIAR. He is a pig! She should have cut it off. That was the only flaw. My favourite thriller by far so intelligently played every move by her and the scene of the crime wiped clean. Brilliant screenplay.

Jeff: "Oh poor me my aunt said she would cut it off if I ever raped my three year old cousin when i was TWELVE!" F- him! She should have performed the castration and made him suffer before his fate. He got off too easy in my opinion. That swine.

@tmdb35923546 said:

I hate scenario twists, when one person knocks down another and then runs away to get a [pistol], then to kill with a [pistol]. If Jeff wanted to kill Hayley, why did he waste time to get pistol, he could just beat her with his feet until she lost consciousness (and win! This is exactly what happens in a real fight)

And more — how did he even know that the gun was uncovered? If not, how was he going to get pistol out of the box under the bed with his hands tied up?

This [mistake] was ruined the whole action.

Honey, you obviously do not know women like Hayley. He was never going to win. Adrenaline kicks in and the thinnest of us can kick the living sh!t out of you. You will never get away from a woman determined to put you where you belong. Hayley is a woman who has the strength of seven men when she is angry there are a lot of us out there. I Loved this movie because I was as precocious when I was 14 and truth and justice is all that matters to people of strong character. When you know that someone is evil you have the strength to fight. His pathetic feet could not harm her are you kidding?

@Bloodshot77 said:

Disturbing movie, but entertaining. Again like with knock knock, I find it hard to believe Ellen Page could over power him.

She was intensely angry apparently she had been abused by a pedo pig like him. Look it up when we are angry we have adrenaline which increases our strength and she was livid so she could easily overpower him becasue she saw him as her predator even though it was someone else who predated her.

I would add the other two stages of grief to your analysis, particularly shock in this case. I LOVED when she said "playtime is over; now it's time to wake up."
He was in shock. Shock comes before denial. You need to be aware; i.e.," wake up," before you can deny reality. I think the actor who plays Jeff is creepy in every movie so he was well cast. Watching it now. I first saw this film dubbed in French. It was great even understanding only half of what was said. I'm fluent in Spanish not in French.