Review of Let the Right One In (2008) by Sandyh — 01 Apr 2009

I watch a lot of movies, and I appreciate and very often agree with the reviewers, who reneder us a great service. It's rare I'll take the time to watch a movie that the critics pan, as a matter of fact, unless I have good reason to--recs from friends, genre that isn't about plot and acting, etc.

I was, therefore, completely ready to be stunned by the excellence of this film. Wow. Was I underwhelmed! When I was telling a fellow filmophile about it, this morning, I had to acknowledge its debt to Bergmann, in that it is so minimalistic in its plot, dialogue, scenes, and cinematography.

The children are pretty and I won't quibble with their acting. But my impression of the movie is that in its attempt at minimalism, it has achieved, instead, shallowness--a very different thing There is no depth to the characters or to the story.

In Bergmann films, very often the characters are iconoclastic, representing ideas, principles, psychological states, classic conflicts, etc. It is apparent that this movie aspires to that import, but instead of archetypes, the characters are little more than caricatures.

There is just not enough depth and substance to warrant the praise this movie has received--not in my humble opinion, anyway.