<p><i>"Candy"</i><br>Director Neil Armfield<br>ThinkFilm<br><img src=http://www.dailybruin.com/ae/paw.jpg width=25><img src=http://www.dailybruin.com/ae/paw.jpg width=25><img src=http://www.dailybruin.com/ae/paw.jpg width=25><img src=http://www.dailybruin.com/ae/paw.jpg width=25> <br/>The worst feature of addiction is that it can be to anything: sex, drugs, rebellion. In his new film, Heath Ledger indulges in all of them, but ?Candy? turns out to be the most lethal. <br/>Starring Ledger and Australian newcomer Abbie Cornish as the title character, ?Candy? chronicles the demise of young lovers lusting after the needle. <br/>Candy is a sinfully gorgeous middle-class artist who simultaneously falls for Dan (Ledger) and his harrowing heroin habits. <br/>In this love triangle of boy, girl and drug of choice, the bond between Candy and Dan must overcome poison, poverty and prostitution. <br/>Though she?s yet another blond bombshell to be exported from Australia ? her hunky co-star opened the floodgates ? Cornish makes a stunning American as the wild child. Though her character?s self-centered choices inspire feelings of contempt and disgust, Cornish brings to the role a forgiving sense of charm. <br/>Even the gratuitous breast-baring every twenty minutes redeems itself through Cornish?s ability to turn the overt sexuality into understated humor. <br/>When the landlord comes to collect rent from the struggling couple, Cornish, naked in bed with Dan, sits up nonchalantly, negotiating a way to delay their payment. <br/>Her flippant attitude becomes her appeal and her bare breasts become an afterthought ? for that scene, at least. <br/>Ironically, it is when she is wearing clothes that she becomes a distraction. Her wardrobe is a puzzle in logic; how can she afford to look so chic when they can barely scrape together enough money to eat and satisfy their heroin addictions? <br/>Regardless, Ledger takes center stage by his expectedly riveting performance. <br/>As the lad who is just trying to keep his head above water, he plays the part with a knowing sigh and a telling expression. <br/>Each obstacle he comes across, whether it be in calming a pregnant Candy suffering from heroin withdrawal or in robbing a man for all he?s worth, Ledger never overdramatizes, never understates. His fight to keep his marriage together is felt, not seen. <br/>The plot may not be original, but it is raw; the film presents the gritty living quarters, the questionable sources of income and instability of day-to-day living that result from an inescapable drug habit. The film is an eye-opening look at the power of addiction ? to heroin, to people and to Candy. <br/><hr><div align=center><img src=/images/2006/9/29/Ratings.jpg></div></p><br><br><a href='; target='_blank'>;