Film: Let The Right One In
Release date: 3rd August 2009
Certificate: 15
Running time: 115 mins
Director: Tomas Alfredson
Starring: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Henrik Dahl, Karin Bergquist
Genre: Horror/Drama/Romance
Studio: Momentum
Format: DVD
Country: Sweden
Written by John Ajvide Lindqvist, and based on his own novel of the same name, Let The Right One In tells the story of burgeoning love between a young recluse and a mysterious dark stranger - but this new acquaintance has a penchant for blood, and prefers the moonlight to the sunshine.
Unpopular and bullied in school, and lonely at home, Oskar, a 12-year-old outcast from a broken home in ‘80s Sweden, spends his time fantasising about the revenge he'll have against the bullies who torment him daily. When he meets the mysterious Eli one night, they form a friendship that becomes the one bright spot in his life.
All is not straightforward, though - despite being next door neighbours, they only meet at night, and spend as much time communicating through the walls via Morse code as they do face to face. It turns out Eli is also 12, but she's “been 12 for a long time."
What follows is a beautifully sculpted story of adolescent love, friendship and devotion. Of course, this is a ‘vampire movie’, so we see death, we see blood and (most intriguingly) we finally get to see why a vampire has to be invited in. The heart of this film is in its characters, though. Their relationship and growing importance to each other is so naturally illustrated that when Oskar’s reaction to Eli’s true nature is so easily accepted, you know this film has you in its thrall...
These two loners form a bond that reminds us of just how powerful and all consuming our first love is. Oskar is more curious than frightened by Eli’s revelations, and Eli seems happy to accommodate him. At its core is a story not of blood and guts but of how just one apparent ray of light in our lives can inspire us, and make life seem worth living - at any age.
The film is elevated further by the wonderfully fragile performances of its young leads. Oskar (played by Kåre Hedebrant), the frightened youth who wishes he was tough enough to look after himself, and Eli (Lina Leandersson), the immortal who still needs someone to look after her. The ‘someone’ in question, Hakan (played by Per Ragnar), providing some darkly comic relief.
There are some very memorable scenes. When Oskar, growing in confidence through his relationship with Eli (and a burgeoning weight training regime - some truths about adolescent boys are just universal, it seems) finally stands up to his tormentors, the consequences are both painful and heart stopping.
The film leaves questions to be answered, though. Eli is a 12-year-old immortal but Oskar IS a lonely 12-year-old boy, so hints of manipulation and subversion can’t be ignored. As odd as it may be to look for a sinister undercurrent in a vampire film, there are definitely hints of a darker motive not explicitly revealed to the viewer. Eli’s almost total reliance on her increasingly inept guardian, Hakan, and his obvious resignation to a life of service (not to mention his readiness to step through Death‘s door), points to a much more complex and cynical relationship than is first apparent.
The film is visually subdued, but with a quietly overpowering beauty. A lack of background noise means that whatever you hear - a heart beating, Morse code on the walls, Oskar breathing (or not) - is eerily pervasive. This muted, almost derelict, tone makes any explosion of violence in the film all the more powerful and affecting.
Most people would say the vampire sub-genre has pretty much run out of steam, but Let The Right One In reminds us that this is a classic movie monster for reasons beyond its obvious monstrosity. PD
No comments:
Post a Comment