As the Internet continues to expand more and more into our lives, it has begun to play a larger role in movies. So, it was inevitable that chat room predators would take center stage. Hardly family fare or material palatable enough to play in mainstream multi-plexes, but it's a story that we hear about on the news and one commonly used to warn young people about Internet peril. Based on the subject matter alone, Hard Candy is designed primarily for high school and college audiences, but David Slade's provocative film contains enough clever dialogue and strong acting performances to satisfy older indie aficionados as well.

Hard Candy begins online--a computer screen reveals Thonggrrl14 conversing in a private chat with Lensman316 and arranging for a first real life meeting in an hour at Nighthawks, a cafe named after the famous Edward Hopper painting about an late night gathering. With an eye to detail, this reference foreshadows what is to come -- nighthawks are birds of prey, and the characters in the painting are deliberately ambiguous. Are the male customers on the prowl, or is the lady?

Soon, 32 year old photographer Jeff Kohlver (Patrick Wilson) meets his chat partner, 14-year old Hayley Stark (Ellen Page) and the two spar flirtatiously. Hayley practically begs Jeff to take her to his photo studio/bachelor pad, and he's tempted. After all, the photographer obviously likes young girls but half-heartedly insists that he must avoid this "jail bait" for another four years. Inevitably both end up at Jeff's studio/home, and impish Hayley is soon gazing at his gallery of other young girls (which we never see), downing screwdrivers, and enticing Jeff to do a photo shoot. But just when you think you know where this is going, the tables turn. And this won't be the only time.

It's difficult to say much more about the plot because much of the enjoyment comes from seeing how various ambiguous threads all unfold. "Enjoyment" is a rather misleading word as well--certain scenes are uncomfortable to watch, only made palatable through darkly humorous verbal quips. When not wincing and turning away from the screen, viewers are certain to be torn between these two tainted characters, finding it difficult to identify and root for either one. Loyalties continually switch between the two to the very end.

Essentially a two-character dialog heavy theatrical vehicle, Brian Wilson's tightly constructed screenplay is brought to life through flawlessly chosen actors. Patrick Wilson, who played Colonel Travis in The Alamo, has the right looks and manner for a conflicted Internet pedophile--shading his good looking features with 5 o'clock shadow Wilson plays his character initially as tentative and awkward before revealing additional nuances under pressure. More than his equal, Ellen Page aggressively counters with a strong bravado performance--an emotional "honor student" tour de force that ranges from innocent naivety to manipulative seduction to pathological sadism. She is the centerpiece of the film, and this is a performance certain to draw attention.

Filmed on a low budget, Hard Candy isn't a perfect film. Distracting digital MTV styled shortcuts could be cut down along with a few minutes to bring it in as a hour and a half; for instance, a sequence with Sandra Oh delivering girl scout cookies could easily be cut if it wasn't the relatively famous indie actor's sole cameo. But David Slade's first feature is definitely worth seeing for the acting alone. Young people are certain to pass positive buzz about the project, as a film that puts a face on the dangers of believing everything you see typed inside an Internet chat room. People just aren't always what they seem to be in those locales, and this film applies two excellent performances to illustrate the phenomenon.