Something I don't particularly like about myself is that if I see a movie with a group of people and they don't like it, I become unsure of my own opinion of it. I went to see "Let the Right One in" with Carlson and April and the minute it was over Carlson said, "thanks Kevin, that was terrible." April wasn't particularly into it either. Defending it outside the theater, I found myself saying that it was just alright and I felt like there was something missing. But the more time that has passed, the more I've found myself thinking back to it. It was pretty fucking cool actually. "Let the Right One in" tells the story of Oskar, a kid who gets picked on by bullies at school, and as a result spends his time dreaming of revenge. He meets his next door neighbor Eli and they become friends and then lovers (as much so as 12 year olds can be lovers). The one hitch is that Eli is a vampire. The movie expands and reinterprets vampire mythology and does so in a series of very creative kills. "Let the Right One in" isn't perfect. Thematically I'm unsure of what it adds up to, although I feel fairly certain it was trying to draw parallels between Oskar's violence and Eli's incredible thirst. But overall the movie was able to reinvent the vampire enough to impress me.
2 comments:
That's a good point about seeing a movie with someone and having completely differing opinions. It does get kind of self conscious! I liked your write-up and I definitely want to check the movie out.
Do you think Carlson's and April's disappointment also had to do with expectations? If you go expecting a more traditional vampire movie, maybe you'd be disappointed by the lack of generic scenes; there isn't a lot of action or sex, and the violence is not pure fun. In a lot of ways, LtROI is closer to movies like BEAUTIFUL THING or HEAVENLY CREATURES (the title's from a Morrissey song for chrissakes!), and maybe they would have liked it better if that's how it had been set up.
Post a Comment