David O'ConnellLet the Right One In
March 30th 2009 04:35
Executed with frightening clarity, Tomas Alfredson’s Let the Right One In, an amalgamation of unlikely love, hardcore horror and a coming-of-age story, belies the restrictive origins of its individual ingredients, proving to be one of the finest and more daringly original films of recent years. Running contrary to virtually every well-worn convention in the horror movie playbook, Alfredson painstakingly peels back layer upon exquisite layer to reveal the depths within.
Adapted by John Ajvide Lindqvist from his own novel, it’s the tale of two outsiders who find one another in a bleak and snowy winterland just outside Stockholm - Oskar (Kare Hedebrant) a meek 12 year old who regularly receives undue treatment at the hands of school bullies, and the newcomer to his apartment building, Eli (Lina Leandersson), a baffling young girl, also 12 "more or less", with an extraordinary secret who discerns an immediate bond with the introverted Oskar.
Their strange, halting relationship becomes stronger even as death lurks on the town’s periphery and the bullying intensifies. Oskar is empowered by Eli and not even the revelation of her true nature and its dire ramifications can damage the connection that binds them.
Filled with subtle touches, the film’s mostly understated, transparent visual beauty hides a fragility that’s bolstered by Alfredson’s many revealing and strangely sensuous close-ups on his young actors’ faces. Both Hedebrant and Leandersson, in their film debuts, show astonishing range in their nuanced performances, giving the relationship believability within just a few scenes whilst tentatively querying one another in the snow outside the apartment building.
Every element of the narrative is perfectly balanced, interwoven to create surprising tenderness even as the backdrop becomes littered with the crude and bloody signatures of Eli’s needs. Alfredson’s direction is undoubtedly the work of a first-rate craftsman, his meticulous compositions heightening the range of emotional responses the film generates. Here’s a rare film I was actually dreading to see the end of, so mesmerized was I by its spell.
Johan Soderqvist’s score can’t go unmentioned either, with his atmospheric rumblings and sub-motifs finally overwhelmed by the glorious ‘Eli’s Theme’, a soul-stirring, elegiac lament that’s given time to develop with sparser voicing before a magnificent orchestral treatment in key scenes towards the end. It’s classic scoring - refraining from a full statement of the main theme until its purpose can be utilised to maximum effect.
Contemplation of the Hollywood remake to follow will inevitably send a spike of fear into the heart of anyone who treasures this remarkable film. Set to leave an indelible mark on audiences for years to come, Let the Right One In is magnificent from first frame to last, and one of the only films in history to make the transition from the realms of its genre origins to that of highest, purest art.
Adapted by John Ajvide Lindqvist from his own novel, it’s the tale of two outsiders who find one another in a bleak and snowy winterland just outside Stockholm - Oskar (Kare Hedebrant) a meek 12 year old who regularly receives undue treatment at the hands of school bullies, and the newcomer to his apartment building, Eli (Lina Leandersson), a baffling young girl, also 12 "more or less", with an extraordinary secret who discerns an immediate bond with the introverted Oskar.
Their strange, halting relationship becomes stronger even as death lurks on the town’s periphery and the bullying intensifies. Oskar is empowered by Eli and not even the revelation of her true nature and its dire ramifications can damage the connection that binds them.
Filled with subtle touches, the film’s mostly understated, transparent visual beauty hides a fragility that’s bolstered by Alfredson’s many revealing and strangely sensuous close-ups on his young actors’ faces. Both Hedebrant and Leandersson, in their film debuts, show astonishing range in their nuanced performances, giving the relationship believability within just a few scenes whilst tentatively querying one another in the snow outside the apartment building.
Every element of the narrative is perfectly balanced, interwoven to create surprising tenderness even as the backdrop becomes littered with the crude and bloody signatures of Eli’s needs. Alfredson’s direction is undoubtedly the work of a first-rate craftsman, his meticulous compositions heightening the range of emotional responses the film generates. Here’s a rare film I was actually dreading to see the end of, so mesmerized was I by its spell.
Johan Soderqvist’s score can’t go unmentioned either, with his atmospheric rumblings and sub-motifs finally overwhelmed by the glorious ‘Eli’s Theme’, a soul-stirring, elegiac lament that’s given time to develop with sparser voicing before a magnificent orchestral treatment in key scenes towards the end. It’s classic scoring - refraining from a full statement of the main theme until its purpose can be utilised to maximum effect.
Contemplation of the Hollywood remake to follow will inevitably send a spike of fear into the heart of anyone who treasures this remarkable film. Set to leave an indelible mark on audiences for years to come, Let the Right One In is magnificent from first frame to last, and one of the only films in history to make the transition from the realms of its genre origins to that of highest, purest art.
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Comment by Cibbuano
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Techbreak
please, David, no Hollywood remake!
Comment by David O'Connell
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Comment by Anonymous