posted
I did a search and I didn't see a thread on this.
Has anyone seen/read Let the Right One In?
I know I shouldn't try to compare movies to the books they came from, but.......
I really enjoyed the movie. (at least, I did once I turned off the english dub and started watching it in Swedish with the subtitles on. Anime isn't the only art form you gotta watch in its original language.)
But having read the book now, I can see the mistakes the film makers made. Eli was perfect but Oskar was miscast. Or the director didn't understand the character at all. Oskar was supposed to be overweight and grimmer than he was portrayed in the movie. Movie Oskar smiled at inappropriate times and was cute. I understand your protagonist needs to be good looking (even if he's twelve) but they could have done.. I dunno.. SOMETHING to make him more of the bully bait he was in the book.
Still, the enjoyable part of both the book and the movie is still there. The relationship between Oskar and Eli. The book delves deeper and we see more of Eli's history (important things that are glazed over in the movie.) The Rubik's Cube scene is so much better in the book I have a hard time understanding how they skipped the important part in the movie. It would have been easy to make and dramatic. The pool scene is better in the movie.
The book also dwells on some secondary characters that play only a minor roll in the movie. They're interesting but I was always eager to get back to Oskar and Eli.
Even though both the book and the movie are *very* slow to develop, after it was over I still wanted more.
Posts: 7085 | Registered: Apr 2001
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I thought it was one of the best vampire movies I've seen. I saw it twice in theaters and am struggling to get my friends to agree to watch it.
I thought that Oscar was great bully bait in this movie. A quiet bookworm with little-to-no confidence and a tendency towards submissive behavior around the bullies. I thought that was very appropriate. There's a deleted scene that furthers this characterization. I also really liked the mood of the film, dark and chilly (literally, snow everywhere).
The English dub is AWFUL. My family wanted to watch it with the dub, and I could not stand more than 10 minutes of it. And I like the way Swedish sounds.
And it's being remade, which is awful. I think a remake, especially by Matt Reeves of Cloverfield infamy, can only make is (much) worse.
I don't know if I'll read the book.
Posts: 1711 | Registered: Jun 2004
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oooo! I forgot to watch the deleted scenes! Yay! More!
Bookish and Submissive yes... but the book Oskar was also fat and incontinent (not a spoiler. you find out really early.) His self loathing and shame make him an even riper target. Movie Oskar didn't have that. No matter how many times you see him thrusting a knife in the air and saying "Squeal like a pig" (first scene in the movie) does his rage really come through. Oskar is isolated. He *needs* Eli.
It also doesn't make sense for Oskar's nickname to be "piggy" if he's not fat.
All this is not to rip on the movie. The movie is fantastic, just, as (almost) always, the book is better.
Posts: 7085 | Registered: Apr 2001
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I've been meaning to watch this movie for ages, but had spaced it off. Thanks for the reminder, Pixiest!
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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I just watched this movie the other day. I was ready to start a new thread, but I was SURE someone on Hatrack had commented on it. I am happy to see an entire thread about it.
First off I have to say I love the idea of Vampire movies, but I have never been too happy with the product. You seem to either get sex and-or gore or campy fun.
Interview with a vampire came close for me and Buffy is fun, but Let the Right One In totally captures what I have been wanting a Vampire movie to be.
It has a low level constant creepy feeling to it that lingers. I can't seem to stop thinking about it. Altho I never got scared, last night at work I walked the extra hallway to use the more public and open restroom. I was alone at night.
If you haven't seen it you should. This review sums it up best:
quote: Beautifully crafted and expertly acted, Let The Right One In eschews the easy options of excessive gore and cheap laughs to create a haunting, emotionally involving journey into the macabre.
I think it was a creepy and innocent love story between Oskar and Eli, but I can't help but think in hind site that Eli was training Oskar to be her next protector.
Maybe training is the bad word. She/it is obviously lonely and recognizes Oskar as a kindred spirit, but, as she says, she has been 12 for a very long time.
I wonder if her old caretaker who was absolutely devoted to her started off like Oskar. And I wonder if Oskar will end up like him--not good at doing anything else but taking care of her as he gets older and her age stays the same.
It's almost as if she is seducing him (non sexually) to be her next guardian because she realizes she will need a replacement soon.
I still think their connection is authentic, I just think her evil is buried under loneliness, not on top of it.
I can't wait to read the book. It floored me in hind site that I was rooting for Oskar and Eli to kill the man who, by all accounts, would be the hero in any other movie.
He was unafraid in seeking out evil to destroy it and was avenging his best friend and also his wife/girlfriend and was trying to protect the village. By all accounts he was a true hero, and yet my sympathy for Oskar and Eli was so masterfully crafted by the film maker that I was rooting for them to get him when he found Eli.
Posts: 2445 | Registered: Oct 2004
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lem: The book goes into a lot more detail about everyone. When you've read it, we can discuss. (Maybe we should have a separate thread for just the book? Since discussing it would spoil people who have only seen the movie...)
Posts: 7085 | Registered: Apr 2001
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