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”.
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K I S S
