LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (Låt den rätte komma in)

Director: Tomas Alfredsson

Review by Robert Sabetto

Watching this brought to mind a quote from another film, Philip Ridley’s REFLECTING SKIN: “Childhood is hell.”  Amen, sister.  Oskar (Kare Hedebrant) is a lonely, shaggy-haired 12-year-old dork with a perpetually runny nose.  Shuttled back and forth between his divorced parents, he has no friends.  A trio of bullies makes his life hell: they call him “Piggie,” beat him with a bull whip, and shove his trousers into a urinal while he’s showering.  Nice.  Bookish Oskar, who’s into Morse code and newspaper clippings about murders, fantasizes of revenge: he carries a concealed weapon but can’t muster the courage to use it on his tormentors.

New neighbors move in next door, and they are, in a word, sketchy.  Oskar hears them arguing through the wall, and they cover their window with cardboard.  Hakan (Per Ranger), the man of the house, is older, henpecked, and aloof.  It isn’t quite clear what he’s doing with an adolescent boy hanging from a tree.  That is, not until news of the boy’s seemingly senseless killing hits the streets.

Enter Eli (Lina Leandersson), a curious girl who claims to live in the jungle gym.  Oskar meets her in front of their building one cold evening.  At first, the two are bratty and hostile.  Eli won’t be friends with Oskar, and he wouldn’t have her, anyway.  No harm, no foul.  A Rubik’s Cube breaks the ice, and the two teeter toward friendship. 

Actually, it’s Eli who’s apprehensive about getting close.  She’s secretive and mysterious.  She tells Oskar she’s not what he thinks she is.  Turns out, she’s a vampire.  She doesn’t live in the jungle gym at all—- she lives next door.  She was the one yelling, and it was because Hakan screwed up again while getting Eli her dinner: the blood of a young boy.

As their friendship blossoms, Oskar and Eli impact each other.  Oskar develops cajones and stands up to Conny (Patrik Rydmark), the leader of the bullies.  Oskar develops feelings and starts making them known.  Eli gets attached to Oskar, but what will happen if she reveals her secret?

I loved this story and I loved the balance Alfredsson maintained throughout the film.  Oskar and Eli are both outcasts but due to different circumstances—- one is a dork and the other is, well, a vampire.  They both want blood for different reasons, and this is where the tension lies.  We go back and forth between innocence and violence.  The vampire thing is thankfully restrained; sure there’s gore, but it’s never the focus.  This prevents LET THE RIGHT ONE IN from degrading to cheese.  As well as this film works, it wouldn’t be as good without Hedebrandt and Leansersson, whose excellent acting carries the day.  They maintain a sweetness that balances out the grey.

According to Wikipedia, an English language version of LET THE RIGHT ONE IN directed by Matt Reeves is in the works for a 2009 release.  Let's hope an American remake doesn't annihilate the charms that make this such a gem.