veggieguy12
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I saw the first film (the Swedish "Let the Right One In") about four times, through my own couple viewings and then showing it to friends - it goes without saying that I liked it. When I saw the trailer for the American remake, "Let Me In", I thought it would be corny. The reviews I read were positive, noting that it does re-create the original, but also has enough of its own character to be distinctive. Having seen it, I'd say that's understated; I actually prefer the American edition of the story.
(Full disclosure: I first watched "Let Me In" after being effected by marijuana.) I describe the two films to people as if you and I went to a social gathering, interacted with different people, observed & participated in the major events, and then told our stories: essentially, all of what we each saw happened, and was true - but our experiences diverge. I feel that "Let Me In" is a more sensitive, sad side to the vampire story, and more fitting to the main characters being adolescents.
I've now just seen some deleted scenes (with director's commentary) and the documentary behind-the-scenes/making-of feature, and I think my sense of the film was validated by what the director and actors say.
-- SPOILERS MAY COME UP --
It could be just a cultural difference, that I miss the subtleties of Scandinavian people interacting and expressing themselves (or not), but only with the American version did I think that it really sucks and is sad to be a vampire: Abby (or Eli, in the Swedish book & film) doesn't want to kill, but she HAS to; she doesn't get to make friends her age, and play in the afternoon; she would like to eat candy, it tastes good - but all she can consume is blood. And while everyone else ages and dies and changes with the world, she remains forever twelve years old, dependent, minimized, very powerful but dismissed by the adult world. She doesn't celebrate her birthday - it isn't any fun, she's twelve every year, forever. How very sad; she has nobody to relate to.
In watching this American version, I noticed her screaming at her 'dad'. (Is that in the Swedish film? Or the book? If it is, I missed it every go-round.) She rages because he's failed to deliver blood to her. This made me realize that this is why she keeps him around, but that she really doesn't care for him. I got to thinking, Who would, as an adult, be with a child, romantically? A pedophile. So, perhaps he loves her, but she despises him for this, though she must tolerate him if she wishes to avoid hunting people herself. (The films show an old photostrip of Abby/Eli with a young boy, who we can presume is the old man we see in the story - so my interpretation is wrong. But the book confirms that Eli's caretaker, Hakan, is indeed a pedophile, and she does in fact loathe him for it.)
My girlfriend has been telling me all the differences and additional bits that were not in the Swedish film. Too much to go into here, and pointless to just spill it all in a movie discussion, but it's quite interesting. The author, John Alvide Lindqvist, has developed and explained the physiology of becoming a vampire and surviving until the heart is damaged, to his credit.
I guess I'd like a fanedit to remove the shot of the photostrip, so my notion stands, that the young vampire's caretaker is a pedophile (and that's true to the book); other than that, the DVD includes only three deleted scenes which wouldn't really add much, though a faneditor could stretch the film just a bit longer by pulling some shots from the locker-room deleted scene, and reinstating the 'Be Me' scene to the film. I might also cut the Morse Code at the end, if possible; just let the audience surmise that the vampire is in the trunk the boy is transporting.
Otherwise, I found this a great movie, super somber and tragic. I felt it cleaned-up some of the flaws of the first screen adaptation (the old man would be a better provider at this point in his relationship with the girl), and the opening scene is really good and escalates the pulse, I think. Also, the vampire created by Abby is dealt with (in the American film) better and more succinctly than the vampire created by Eli in the Swedish movie.
What are your thoughts on this story, in either of its tellings? Or the book?
(Full disclosure: I first watched "Let Me In" after being effected by marijuana.) I describe the two films to people as if you and I went to a social gathering, interacted with different people, observed & participated in the major events, and then told our stories: essentially, all of what we each saw happened, and was true - but our experiences diverge. I feel that "Let Me In" is a more sensitive, sad side to the vampire story, and more fitting to the main characters being adolescents.
I've now just seen some deleted scenes (with director's commentary) and the documentary behind-the-scenes/making-of feature, and I think my sense of the film was validated by what the director and actors say.
-- SPOILERS MAY COME UP --
It could be just a cultural difference, that I miss the subtleties of Scandinavian people interacting and expressing themselves (or not), but only with the American version did I think that it really sucks and is sad to be a vampire: Abby (or Eli, in the Swedish book & film) doesn't want to kill, but she HAS to; she doesn't get to make friends her age, and play in the afternoon; she would like to eat candy, it tastes good - but all she can consume is blood. And while everyone else ages and dies and changes with the world, she remains forever twelve years old, dependent, minimized, very powerful but dismissed by the adult world. She doesn't celebrate her birthday - it isn't any fun, she's twelve every year, forever. How very sad; she has nobody to relate to.
In watching this American version, I noticed her screaming at her 'dad'. (Is that in the Swedish film? Or the book? If it is, I missed it every go-round.) She rages because he's failed to deliver blood to her. This made me realize that this is why she keeps him around, but that she really doesn't care for him. I got to thinking, Who would, as an adult, be with a child, romantically? A pedophile. So, perhaps he loves her, but she despises him for this, though she must tolerate him if she wishes to avoid hunting people herself. (The films show an old photostrip of Abby/Eli with a young boy, who we can presume is the old man we see in the story - so my interpretation is wrong. But the book confirms that Eli's caretaker, Hakan, is indeed a pedophile, and she does in fact loathe him for it.)
My girlfriend has been telling me all the differences and additional bits that were not in the Swedish film. Too much to go into here, and pointless to just spill it all in a movie discussion, but it's quite interesting. The author, John Alvide Lindqvist, has developed and explained the physiology of becoming a vampire and surviving until the heart is damaged, to his credit.
I guess I'd like a fanedit to remove the shot of the photostrip, so my notion stands, that the young vampire's caretaker is a pedophile (and that's true to the book); other than that, the DVD includes only three deleted scenes which wouldn't really add much, though a faneditor could stretch the film just a bit longer by pulling some shots from the locker-room deleted scene, and reinstating the 'Be Me' scene to the film. I might also cut the Morse Code at the end, if possible; just let the audience surmise that the vampire is in the trunk the boy is transporting.
Otherwise, I found this a great movie, super somber and tragic. I felt it cleaned-up some of the flaws of the first screen adaptation (the old man would be a better provider at this point in his relationship with the girl), and the opening scene is really good and escalates the pulse, I think. Also, the vampire created by Abby is dealt with (in the American film) better and more succinctly than the vampire created by Eli in the Swedish movie.
What are your thoughts on this story, in either of its tellings? Or the book?