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As
gentle and delicate a film as you are likely
to see in 2008! "Let the Right One In" takes
the vampire genre to an alternate cinematic
dimension -- one where tender love and
friendship supersedes the lust for blood.
A lonely, feeble and shy young boy is
bullied at school and ignored at home.
He is desperate for companionship and
fantasizes about revenge on his tormentors.
Oskar often plays
alone in the snowy yard in front of his
apartment building. One night, while
practicing his revenge on a small tree,
Oskar meets Eli -- a strange and curious
soul who is fascinated by Oskar Rubik's Cube.
Eli completes the puzzle by morning.
We learn, before
Oskar does, that Eli is a vampire who feeds
off of the occasional local resident.
However, they strike up a nocturnal
friendship that soon blossoms into an
agreement of "going steady".
The film tracks this
relationship as Oskar begins to stand up to
his school bullies and Eli struggles to
sustain the violent feeding habits. We
watch as both children help each other with
their respective problems.
I cannot go into too
many details without giving away key story
elements. There are some things that
are best learned throughout the course of
watching this great Swedish film.
However, I will urge you to play close
attention to every aspect of Eli's character
-- it is very easy to miss a important part.
"Let the Right One
In" is a triumph of mood, style and tone.
I am not sure that I have ever seen a film
that pays more attention to the tiniest
sounds. This is a very quiet film with
gentle souls offering gentle lines of
dialogue. You can almost hear the snow
flakes hit the ground in some scenes.
It is a lovely
visual too -- the entire film is a canvas
for Gothic beauty. Even the few bloody
scenes are handled with an eye for unique
aesthetics. It is one of the finest
examples of cinematography in 2008.
Kåre Hedebrant and
Lina Leandersson are both first time actors
who deliver two of the finest child
performances I have ever seen. A lot
of credit must go to the director for
casting and crafting such profound ability.
Their faces will be indelibly etched in your
mind after having seen them here.
Special note to Leandersson, who should be
considered for a Best Supporting nod at next
year's Oscars.
There are moments of
heartbreak and moments of cheer in this
little gem. I cherish this on-screen
friendship and love up there with any movie
relationship from this decade. Despite
their vast differences, Oskar and Eli cure
each other's loneliness in this bleak
world... and they escape from it with one of
the most poignant and haunting final scenes
since the secret whisper at the end of "Lost
in Translation".
-.- ..
... ...
K
I S S
©
Written by TC Candler
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