Review of Let the Right One In (2008) by Adam G — 29 Nov 2011

I just recently heard about this little Swedish film within the past two weeks. I watched the trailer online, but did not see it anywhere else and thought it looked extremely interesting. After seeing the spectacular reviews it's been getting I had to head out to the theater and see it opening weekend. Hopefully it expands so everyone can see it as "Pan's Labyrinth" did two years ago because I believe this is the most original and interesting take on the Vampire film genre since it began.

The direction in this film is superb. The characters are handled expertly and they really are the best part of the film. The director manages to flesh out the characters very effectively in scenes with little to no dialogue, and by the end you deeply sympathize with the main character Oskar, and you feel sorry for his love, a little vampire by the name of Eli. Do not be mistaken, this is a little kids love story, but NOT by any means a children's film. Like "Pan's Labyrinth" it's violent, bloody and disturbing, and it would frighten most children not in their teen years. The violence is handled in an extremely unsettling straightforward fashion. This is a film with a very modern edge, however it's simplistic style gives it a sort of odd awkwardness that is not used by director's often enough. You get to actually see what happens, you don't just see a vampire jump, then a shot of teeth, then blood, and then a shot of a vampire walking away. That's what so many American filmmakers would have done with this film because they think it's cool to make a film that plays to the ADHD crowd. This film takes it's time, it's never overly gross, although at some points its quite out there, but it obviously is handled by a director who knows how to present these things in a way that is most effective and most understandable. Not to mention some of the dark humor that is injected into the film at different parts makes the extremely dark landscape of a Sweden in winter a bearable setting for this film. You'll walk out satisfied, but you'll likely want to go get a little sun for a while. Sweden in the winter time is clearly the perfect place for a vampire and the director implies this throughout all the seemingly sunless scenes of the film.

One of the other strengths that I attribute to both the writer and the director is the subtleties of the film. Many things are totally open to interpretation. After you watch the film, think about some of the characters, one great example being Eli's mysterious father figure, and then you might see what I'm talking about. This is a sweet film whit quite a bit of heart, but it might be a little less sweet then you'd originally imagined if you ponder the reason's for some of the characters actions. Think about the real meaning of the title and the answer to the purpose of the boy shall be revealed. Like "No Country for Old Men" it only gets more complex the more that you think about it, which to me is the mark of an amazing film.

The great metaphor that the author of the book who then adapted his work into a screenplay provides us with is the metaphor of the girl in the relationship being the one who's a million times less innocent than the dumbfounded, inexperienced boy. She's a vampire for christ's sake and you see his nerdy boyish cluelessness throughout the entirity of the film while she remains very mysterious and protective of the boy. She doesn't want him to see her become violent or blood thirsty, so she always try's to make sure he doesn't have to. She tries to hide him from her real self, but then really ends up accepting him as her guardian, and her as his, which he really seems to understand by the end of the film. However I don't think he knows the full extent of what that relationship will entail as he grows older.

The acting is nothing short of fantastic and it's one of the reasons the film is so amazingly effective. The director certainly had a lot of tools to utilize as he painted his vision onto the screen. The little boy, played by Kare Hedebrant, perfectly portrays a bullied and innocent kid who may go on to do something drastic if the bullying continues. The vampire, played by Lina Leandersson, does a great job of showing how much of a burden her "illness" really is, and probably would not wish it upon anyone else. All of the older adult characters in the film seem much less interesting, and are caught up with adult things too much to really intersect on an emotional level with the children. The bullies in the film do not have huge parts in terms of screen time, but effectively show how they could potentially drive Oskar into ruin if they continue their nonsense. Finally the older brother of one of the bullies who steps in after Oskar begins to fight back really does a good job of helping us empathize with the bullies as we can see that he probably was cruel to them because they are weaker than him, therfore they think its normal to be cruel to Oskar because he is weaker than them.

The film is not quick paced, but it should always hold your attention. Keeping things simple does not mean making them uninteresting. You get to see Eli's tactics of luring in or attacking her victims and the effects she has on the society that she is in. It really shows realistically what it would be like to have a vampire in any modern day society. And I certainly left the theater very satisfied by its conclusion. "Let the Right One In" explores the mythos of the vampire and manages to make your stomach turn and your heart warm all in a period of 2 hours. It's a likely candidate for Best Foreign Language Film at any award ceremony come this February, and thus far it is absolutely my favorite film of the year.

10/10.