Escaping Gravity - Candy Review

“When you can stop, you don't want to. When you want to stop, you can't.” Candy is the film adaptation of the book by the same name written by author and former drug addict, Luke Davies. This Australian independent film directed by Neil Armfield is loosely told through narration. It is the story of two lovers, artists, and addicts whose lives become entwined within the dark world of using. Abuse, prostitution, and inevitably, poverty take this couple hostage and into a dangerous threesome: Dan (Heath Ledger), Candy (Abbie Cornish), and heroin.

Split into three allegorical chapters, "Heaven", "Earth", and "Hell", one could easily construe that, what goes up must come down. The highs are great in the beginning, but when the money vanishes, the craving remains. Heroin has it’s own demands, it’s own timetable. Dan and Candy soon discover that it's going to take more than love to fuel their addiction and are left to decide what is stronger, their love for each other or their need for this drug.

Inside a spinning room, Dan and Candy desperately cling to one another, struggling against the forces of gravity. Completely absorbed in the moment, they are oblivious to reality. They’re lovesick—as long as they are together they can survive. “We had a lot going for us. We'd found the secret glue that held all things together. In a perfect place, where the noise did not intrude, our world was so very complete.” This is the opening scene of the film, entirely fitting for the chaos that is about to ensue.

At its core, this is a love story where a man and a woman share an addiction, not only to their drug of choice, but to each other. It is a constant emotional roller-coaster ride: lust, love, survival. They abuse heroin in hopes that it will draw them closer and many times attempt to give it up and live cleanly, but only if they can do it together. After all, isn’t love about sharing lives? The constant failure only fuels their need for more.

The story of the inevitable decent into addiction is commonly treaded ground; often times, difficult to stomach. The plot brings nothing new to the addiction genre, people do drugs; bad things happen. Dan has lived a life of drug use, whereas Candy, in attempts to push away from her mother has found Dan. Together, they find escape from reality in this love triangle—destined for a catastrophic ending.

With drug money running low, Dan and Candy go and see Casper (Geoffrey Rush), a university professor who plays the role of friend and mentor. Casper is a junkie himself, and instead of steering the couple in the right direction, supplies them with free heroin and a safe place to shoot-up. Gradually, prostitution, dealing, and theft take over the lives of these characters in order to secure them with their next hit. “They say for every ten years you've been a junkie, you'll have spent seven of them waiting. On the one hand it was nice having all that time to think. On the other, anxiety was a full time job.”

Parallel to the life of an addict, the film has its ups and downs. A harrowing attempt to go clean leaves both Candy and Dan vulnerable to each other, justifying the drug use that fuels their passion. It all proves too much for Candy when she is hospitalized for a nervous breakdown and Dan realizes the difficulty of living without her and without the income from her prostitution. “I wasn’t trying to wreck Candy’s life. I was trying to make mine better.” This exemplifies the true hardships of life as a junky.

While sometimes harshly realistic in its approach, there are moments when you are clearly reminded that you are watching a movie instead of looking into the sordid lives of two destitute and desperate people who are looking for an escape only to have gravity drag them back into reality. Armfield depicts living life as a junkie with little reserve, going as far as showing a graphic still birth. He also directed scenes of Dan reading poetry to Candy and Candy writing messages to Dan on the wall—cutesy movie effects.

Films about addiction are often difficult to watch, and therefore difficult to recommend. Candy is one of the easier ones. This film has a free spirited air to it and doesn’t entirely overdo the lows to where it becomes too harsh to bear. Candy’s parents (Tony Martin and Noni Hazlehurst), although disapproving of Dan and their daughter’s lifestyle, help us see past our own preconceptions about drug users, past the stereotypes, and remind us that every addict is somebody’s child. Time and time again they attempt to pull their daughter out of the grave she has created for herself, unsuccessful each time.

Unlike other drug movies, such as Blow and Requiem for a Dream, Candy stays small and personal, a simple love story of two people whose addiction for each other can't seem to compete with the overwhelming addiction of heroin. As they eventually find out, there's not enough room for both to coexist and the tie that initially bound them together would be the one that finally threatens to strangle them in the end.