Review #371 - Let the Right One In (2008)
THE SCOOP
Director: Tomas Alfredson
Cast: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar
Director: Tomas Alfredson
Cast: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar
Plot: Oskar, a bullied 12-year old, dreams of
revenge. He falls in love with Eli, a peculiar girl.
Genre: Drama / Horror / Romance
Genre: Drama / Horror / Romance
Awards: Nom. for 1 BAFTA - Best Foreign Language Film
Runtime: 114min
Runtime: 114min
Rating: NC16 for some bloody violence including disturbing images,
brief nudity and language.
IN RETROSPECT (Spoilers: NO)
Oskar
is a young boy whose parents do not bother with anymore, is viciously bullied
at school, and spends most of his lonely existence collecting news articles of
murderers on his scrapbook. I wouldn’t be surprised if he grows up to be a
Columbine killer. “Squeal like a pig! Squeal!” he says with a devilish tone
while stabbing a tree with his sharp knife.
Eli,
Oskar’s neighbor, is a soft-spoken, weird-smelling girl whose background
remains murky, often spending nights out in the courtyard and days cooped up at
home. One night they meet in the courtyard, and slowly a beautiful friendship
forms. But there is an anomaly - Eli is a vampire.
Tomas Alfredson’s Let the Right One In is perhaps the most refreshing foreign-language film of 2008, a Swedish picture that reminds us that horror-dramas when done well can be largely satisfying. The establishment of mood and location is paramount for these kinds of films. From the first scene, Alfredson sets the tone with authority. It is nightfall, it is snowy, and it is freezing; this brings a sense of imminent dread to the proceedings.
Tomas Alfredson’s Let the Right One In is perhaps the most refreshing foreign-language film of 2008, a Swedish picture that reminds us that horror-dramas when done well can be largely satisfying. The establishment of mood and location is paramount for these kinds of films. From the first scene, Alfredson sets the tone with authority. It is nightfall, it is snowy, and it is freezing; this brings a sense of imminent dread to the proceedings.
Although
the film develops into a lovely romance, there is a queer feeling of uneasiness
throughout. This is because of the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personality of Eli.
Yes, she is amiable towards Oskar but she is also capable of inflicting the
most gruesome violence on others.
Let
the Right One In will not please die-hard aficionados of the horror genre
because the film is a clever study of two distinctive characters and their
unusual relationship with each other within the context of a romantic drama (with
horror elements incorporated) rather than an all-out supernatural fright fest.
That
being said, Let the Right One In is at times
shocking in the way it depicts violence i.e. Eli’s sporadic attacks on other
neighbours, and the process in which Eli’s caretaker collects blood from
victims are visually disturbing. Eli’s attacks are often accompanied by a loud,
unique ‘wham!’ which intensifies the shock value ala The Sixth
Sense.
Alfredson
has so richly developed the film’s two leading roles that he neglects the
supporting ones, giving them nothing more than paper-thin portrayals. This
means that viewers are less emotionally attached to the latter, and would not
care much about their fate. The climax is a masterstroke; Alfredson employs
inferential visuals that evoke startling, nightmarish images yet brilliantly
capturing the universal love between Oskar and Eli through the latter’s
determined quest to fulfil Oskar’s dreams for revenge.
Let
the Right One In is not flawless, but its total focus on the story and
lead characters as well as the excellent creation of mood makes it a film of
substantial class, consigning pretentious movies like the popular
vampire-romance, Twilight, to its
rightful place in the cinematic rubbish dump.
GRADE: A-
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