To new readers, Reviews from the Vault are reviews from my personal collection. This weekend being the opening weekend for Let Me In (America's adaptation of the recent Dutch film Let the Right One In), I figured I would review the "real" film and give credit where credit is due. Writer John Ajvide Lindqvist and director Thomas Alfredson's Let the Right One In is an award winning tale of love viewed through the perspective of a vampire caught in youth. Oskar (Kare Hedenbrant) is a timid young school boy who has recently encountered a new, strange girl in his apartment complex named Eli. Realizing that Oskar is a shy, nearly spineless boy, Eli (Lina Leandersson) makes it her aspiration to protect Oskar and teach him to stand up for himself against school-house bullies. The more Oskar peers into Eli's life, the more clear it becomes that Eli is far from an average girl, and far from human for that matter. In a time so cluttered with Vampire movies, television shows, and novels, one might find themselves hesitant to view such a movie as Let the Right One In. The film tends to stand on its own in this genre due to its originality of plot and characters. For being both young and first time screen actors, Hedebrant and Leandersson put on Oscar-worthy performances. The chemistry between the two characters is eerily realistic, and at times the actors do not need to speak in order for the audience to understand what is inferred. The film may be set in a different country, the actors may be younger than most viewers of the film, and the story may invlove a fictional vampire, but Let the Right One In depicts a journey of love and passion that we can all appreciate and relate to. A director's ability to make his audience sympathize and care for an otherwise monster shows true professional cinematography, which is indefinitely the case with Alfredson. From the top notch writing, directing, and acting, to the eerie setting and subject matter of the film, Let the Right One In is an instant horror classic that not only inspired an American remake, but earned 4 stars in my book.Friday, October 1, 2010
Reviews from the Vault: Let the Right One In (2008)
To new readers, Reviews from the Vault are reviews from my personal collection. This weekend being the opening weekend for Let Me In (America's adaptation of the recent Dutch film Let the Right One In), I figured I would review the "real" film and give credit where credit is due. Writer John Ajvide Lindqvist and director Thomas Alfredson's Let the Right One In is an award winning tale of love viewed through the perspective of a vampire caught in youth. Oskar (Kare Hedenbrant) is a timid young school boy who has recently encountered a new, strange girl in his apartment complex named Eli. Realizing that Oskar is a shy, nearly spineless boy, Eli (Lina Leandersson) makes it her aspiration to protect Oskar and teach him to stand up for himself against school-house bullies. The more Oskar peers into Eli's life, the more clear it becomes that Eli is far from an average girl, and far from human for that matter. In a time so cluttered with Vampire movies, television shows, and novels, one might find themselves hesitant to view such a movie as Let the Right One In. The film tends to stand on its own in this genre due to its originality of plot and characters. For being both young and first time screen actors, Hedebrant and Leandersson put on Oscar-worthy performances. The chemistry between the two characters is eerily realistic, and at times the actors do not need to speak in order for the audience to understand what is inferred. The film may be set in a different country, the actors may be younger than most viewers of the film, and the story may invlove a fictional vampire, but Let the Right One In depicts a journey of love and passion that we can all appreciate and relate to. A director's ability to make his audience sympathize and care for an otherwise monster shows true professional cinematography, which is indefinitely the case with Alfredson. From the top notch writing, directing, and acting, to the eerie setting and subject matter of the film, Let the Right One In is an instant horror classic that not only inspired an American remake, but earned 4 stars in my book.
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This is an outstanding film and I'm not interested in seeing the remake. It's a shame that Hollywood feels they have to remake foreign movies because they seem to have no original ideas of their own. Another shame is that most people don't have the patience for reading subtitles. Oh well.
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