Film: Candy
Genre: Drama
Year: 2005
Geoffrey stars as a gay junky in the emotionally stirring Candy, a film which follows the story of a young Australian couple (played by Heath Ledger and Abbie Cornish) whose lives are ruled by their drug addiction. Casper is an old hand at drugs, even able to make up his own, and heedless of the risks, continues to use them to enliven his life and those of the people around him. Also a professor of chemistry, Casper is a thoroughly likeable individual, full of fun and frivolity, yet he is not without a hint of sadness, for he knows that his drug addiction can only lead to disaster. Yet still he continues; he plays games, he makes love, and he lives life to the max - until his terrible addiction finally catches up with him.
Geoffrey continues to prove his flexibility as an actor in this film and is thoroughly convincing as the homosexual professor, a person who one could quite easily imagine living next door to without a second thought. Nothing is overplayed, and he manages to hit just the right balance with Casper's emotions as the man delicately swings between seeming innocence and a deep-seated knowledge of his own doom. Casper is summed up beautifully, as is most of the film, by but one of his lines: "When you can stop, you don't want to. When you want to stop, you can't." And this is said with a beautiful ambiguity, where one side of Casper longing to truly stop, whilst the other simply can't.
Candy is not a film about drugs so much as it's about the effects of them on people's lives, and one is left with a very clear impression of how terrible an existence these characters lead throughout the course of the movie. They are forever waiting for their next "fix", and living for nothing else. Perhaps the film is too thought-provoking and subtle for some, but for me it was a truly moving experience, and it's a credit to the cast and crew that it achieved so many award nominations and much critical acclaim worldwide. Geoffrey's part in it may be small, but if you're anything like me, you'll walk away from Candy adoring his character, and yet, at the same time, pitying him for the tragic life he has led and the premature death he brings upon himself.
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