(2): Let the right one in

Eli (Lina Leandersson) 

Let the Right One In: the alternative to Twilight for anyone who hasn't had a lobotomy. Stephanie Meyer could learn a thing or two about the tricky dynamics of human-vampire relations from this Swedish film.

Necessary snobbery aside, this movie really is beautiful. It has its gory moments - I mean, blood is a given in a vampire movie - but it isn't so much scary as it is unsettling. The film pushes the creepy kids button, and most of the goosebumps come from that angle. This idea is nothing new, in fact it's been done to death, but what made Let the Right One In stay with me over these last few days was its perfect marriage of story and aesthetics.

Let the Right One In is essentially a love story. The film follows Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant) as he navigates the social obstacles of being the weird kid at his school - mainly bullying, mainly from a particular shit-head named Conny (Patrik Rydmark). An assumed father-daughter couple move into the apartment complex that Oskar lives in and he quickly befriends Eli (Lina Leandersson), a mysterious girl of his age. A series of murders take place and suspicion eventually falls on Eli and her reclusive 'dad' (Per Ragnar).

While Oskar is definitely on the wrong side of normal, his complicated character is developed very effectively in a way that demands empathy. A single child, living with a fairly absent mother, bullied at school, and only outwardly happy on his rare visits with his dad: these aspects promote sympathy while being simultaneously offset by his other character traits like his scrapbook of newspaper articles reporting murder and awkward bowl-cut.

Eli's character, complete with the emotional baggage of being immortal and vaginaless (seriously), is a fascinating opposition between vulnerability and invulnerability. Her youth and seeming fragility give a misguiding air of helplessness which is ultimately tempered by her intelligence and, oh yeah, her diet. Apparently not soulless, Eli is outwardly shaken each time she feeds, and this reveals an element of insecurity in her character which I think makes her soft spot for Oskar more believable. Again, the theme of two outcasts finding love in each other is nothing new, but this film takes the idea pretty close to its extreme. Stripped back of all its details, the attraction between Oskar and Eli exists because he's just psyched to have a real friend, and she's psyched to have someone who doesn't mind the vampire thing.

The story being the bones of any text, this film is fleshed out by Hoyte Van Hoytema's cinematography. Set during a Swedish winter, where the sun is down for the majority of every 24 hours, this benefits the horror element in the film. Snow and the perpetually dark sky sit in constant contrast to each other, and act perfectly as the backdrop to the story's central relationship. Many shots are also cleverly layered, so that when the focus shifts depth it creates a false sense of movement - a cool little trick I've never really noticed in a film before. Apparently there's a Hollywood remake of Let the Right One In, which I am curious to see, but it's got pretty big shoes to fill compared to its visually and emotionally engaging original.

Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant)

In a side note: I've wanted to visit Sweden for a long time. I'm actually meant to be there right now on exchange, but that unfortunately didn't work out on account of my rigid degree structure. I was originally attracted to the frozen northern country by the reputation its girls had, but on further research it started to sound really interesting. It seems to be one of the only places where they've managed to make socialism work, they're very forward-thinking in terms of education (which is what I'm studying), and their government is pretty damn generous with their mostly awesome musicians. It's still on my places to go list, especially because I paid for $400 worth of basic Swedish lessons (Jag dricker vatten i klockan halv tolv), but it's going to be a while before I'll be able to go for any decent length of time.

Anyway, watch the movie, you'll like it.