It’s amusing to think that Ellen Page was unheard of prior
to “Juno,” unless you actually recognized her as Kitty Pryde from the
uncannily bad “X-Men: The Last Stand,” or unless you had heard of the
2005 independent film, “Hard Candy.” And now she’ll forever be
obnoxiously tagged “Academy Award nominee Ellen Page!” Regardless,
the Oscar nod was an impressive achievement for a debuting actress, especially
for a role that didn’t really deserve it.

“Juno” (2007)

For the one percent of people reading this who don’t already
know the synopsis, “Juno” spans a year in the life of an offbeat
teenage girl of the same name (Ellen Page), who gets knocked up by her
incredibly awkward boy-crush (Michael Cera, “Superbad”), but decides
to pawn the baby off to a wholesome, childless couple (Jennifer Garner,
“Alias,” and Jason Bateman of TV’s “Arrested Development”).
However, they all seem to realize that finding happiness in life isn’t as easy
as just poppin’ out a baby.

“Juno” is an oddball, hip teenage comedy, and a
successful one at that. What it’s not — and I can’t fathom why so many people
and even critics have called it so — is an independent film, except maybe in
the sense that it appeals to people with a trendy affinity to things (often
inappropriately) dubbed “indie.” As evident by the cast of relatively
well-known names (or at least faces) and a somewhat established director, Jason
Reitman (“Thank You For Smoking”), “Juno” was released by a
big studio on a modest, multi-million-dollar budget.

Don’t get me wrong — “Juno” is a solid movie that
manages to be both witty and heartwarming when it’s not obnoxious. Seriously,
though, where is this town where nearly everyone speaks in incomprehensible
hipster jargon? Writer Diablo Cody is undoubtedly talented, but she can’t seem
to filter funny lines like “They just shoot [babies] out of T-shirt guns
at sporting events” from ridiculous cant like “Oh my blog” or
the term “pork sword” for penis.

Similarly damaging are the numerous occasions when
“Juno” feels like little more than a shameless plug for indie rock or
an untactful, unabashed defense of the persecuted “different kid.”
The mere fact that they released a second soundtrack of songs they almost used
in the film is nauseating.

Yet “Juno” is undeniably a quirky, droll,
well-made film with a solid cast. It often has a pretty recycled feel to it,
but the characters and story, albeit exaggerated, are somehow charming.
Ironically, though, it seems very likely that “Juno” is exactly the
kind of movie the sass-mouthed teenage Juno would mock.

3 1/2 stars out of 5

“Hard Candy” (2005)

“Hard Candy” is rather hard to swallow, but the
similarities between the film and actual hard candy end about there. The 2005
indie film by David Slader (“30 Days of Night”) is an impressive,
disturbing mindfuck that’s sure to jolt your sense of morality.

The essential plot is like Dateline NBC’s “To Catch a
Predator” with a very twisted vigilantism. It seems like a lucky break for
32-year-old Jeff Kohlver (Patrick Wilson, “Evening”) when a spunky
14-year-old girl takes interest in him online and wants to meet up. However,
things don’t go as he planned when the seemingly innocent girl, Hayley (Ellen
Page), turns out to have her own ulterior motives. Without giving away much
more, the roles of predator and prey soon swap.

One of the many great things about “Hard Candy” is
that, although premised on a gimmicky plot, it manages to overcome it with an
intense, sharp script delivered with some brilliant acting. Wilson holds his
own, but the show stealer is Page, who dances back and forth between cute
innocence and vindictive malice with finesse and a rare, intense credibility as
both heroin and villainess. As the complexities of the two characters unfold,
the viewers find themselves unsure whom to side with and are ultimately left
having to answer many questions on their own.

Like Hayley, the style of the film is deceiving — the
subject is tense and provocative, but it’s wrapped in a bright, crisp veneer of
lighting and coloring effects, while music is used very minimally, lending an
engrossing, very realistic non-movie-like feel to “Hard Candy.”

Although the constantly inverting cat-and-mouse game fringes
on redundancy, the film’s intense subject matter and psychological depth
relentlessly jerks the viewers around and draws them in, often unwillingly.

Nothing about this film shouts “indie,” except
that it differs significantly from the cliched, overdone, big studio bullshit
that’s high-budget and low-intrigue. Edgy and extreme, “Hard Candy”
explores a hot issue in an inverted way that will have you reeling and
rethinking a few moral issues.

4 stars out of 5

Ellen Page is too hard to dislike. Or maybe she’s not, when
you consider she’s only 21 and worth millions. Either way, both these movies
display her abilities pretty well, but the better showing is in “Hard
Candy” to be sure, where the acting isn’t outdone by indie tunes and a
“boss” script.

Want more reason to send the hate mail you’re already
formulating in your head? I hated “Garden State.”
[email protected].

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