I sit through hours of YouTube fan vids searching for inspiration for the story I am writing on watt pad. I google romantic moments and observe the mundane instead of the magical. But whilst trawling through other peoples warped perceptions of romanticism one film in particular kept popping up over and over and over again.
CANDY
A bohemian love story starring Heath Ledger and Abbie Cornish, its a turbulant tale of drugs and love. Not the most potent combination.
I am still not quite sure whether or not I liked the film, as after the credits started rolling up I was still sat in the same position staring blankly at my computer screen wondering what the hell I had just watched. But then again how much can you love a film about heroin addiction with the under currents of love and dependancy.
From the opening sequence when you see Candy(Cornish) and Dan(Ledger) literally spinning with love for one another on an amusement ride, you see their world unravel into a whirl of depression and the constant hunger for more heroin. The depths they both sink too is so raw and real. Candy starts selling off heirlooms and then later her body whilst Dan commits theft and fraud. But through out all this their love shines through, its so pure and tender that you almost forget that they are high off their minds.
No I didn't love the film but I found it compelling enough to watch it again and this time revel in the artistic perfection of some of the shots and camera positioning. There were moments in the film when I had to pause it and just admire the beauty that director Neil Armfield manages to create amidst such destruction and turmoil.
I think one key moment in the filmfor me was when I just sat and felt such empathetic sorrow for Dan's character in the scene where Candy has had a mental breakdown and has scrawled the most beautiful insane ramblings all over the walls. It was such a strong visual message, her words resonated through me and I felt truely inspired by them.
Once upon a time there was Candy and Dan,
Things were very hot that year,
All the wax was melting in the trees.
He would climb balconies,
Climb everywhere do anything for her.
Her Danny boy.
Thousands of birds, the tiniest birds,
Adorned her hair, everything was gold.
One night the bed caught fire.
He was handsome and a very good criminal,
We lived on sunlight and chocolate bars.
It was the afternoon of extravagant delight,
Danny the dare devil, Candy went missing,
The day’s last rays of sunshine cruised like sharks,
I want to trade you away this time.
You came into my life really fast and I liked it,
We squelched in the mud of our joy,
I was wet-thighed with surrender.
Then there was a gap in things,
And the whole earth tilted,
(This is the business) This is what we’re after.
With you inside me comes the-
Perhaps I will simply never sleep again,
(The monster in the pool) it was in the dark-
Cats and chickens and runner beans,
(Everywhere I looked) And sometimes I hate you.
Friday, I didn’t mean that,
Mother of the blueness of- (angel)
Sometimes I hate you.
(Point at the sky) Demand to supply,
(Considerably) Fuckin- (flowers) Danny.
I break your head on the back of the bed.
The baby he died in the morning,
We gave him a name,
His name was Thomas.
Poor little God,
His heart pounds like a voodoo drum.
