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Tonight I saw the Australian film Candy. I hated it. I hated it because I loved it; because loving it meant sharing the painful story of the two young characters, of their family, and the inevitable downward spiral into oblivion.

The acting was absolutely superb, some of the best I have seen. Going into it I shared some of the prognostic cynicism about yet another junkie film, but was buoyed by some good reviews. While much of the thematic context had been explored in previous endeavours, I still felt this film had much to offer. I guess because the characters and story were so authentic, you couldn't help but feel the reverberating effects. Indeed I spent much of the film with my head in my hands, painfully aware, embarrassed even of how achingly fallible the characters were yet unable to shape their decisions.

It's certainly not the type of film you would want to sit down and relax to. However it does provide a solid emotional journey with some stellar performances by the five characters: Abby Cornish, Heath Ledger, Tony Marten, Noni Hazlehurst and Geoffrey Rush. Like some viewers though, if you fail to sympathise with the lead characters then be prepared for an unpleasant movie experience. A good watch for fans of quality cinema. For more reviews see At the Movies, smh.com and The Movie Show.