anjru Review of Let the Right One In

Let the Right One In (2008)

A Most Unconventional and Satisfying Film by Andrew Malekoff

[8/10 · 11 January 2009]

Let the Right One In is a most unique film about early adolescent puppy love between a sweet and oft bullied boy and his new neighbor, a 100-plus year old vampire that has occupied a 12 year old girl's body. They are kindred spirits, both lonely, misunderstood and seemingly adrift, searching for meaning and, in their own ways - blood. I really liked the pacing of the film - some that are used to bang-bang-shoot-em-up flicks might say plodding, but for the patient film-goer I say - just right. The boy, living in a single parent family with his mom and with periodic contact with this dad, is the target of a cruel group of classmates led by one particularly vile and sadistic punk, whose even more brutal older brother gradually emerges from the shadows as the drama unfolds. The girl lives in squalor with an old guy who she probably has more years on despite the contrast between his aging body and her youthful shell. He is charged with getting fresh blood for her. But, he is a clod and blunderer (there is a sort of slapstick to his shtick) and he cannot consistently deliver, leaving her to seek her own sustenance in very dramatic fashion. As the two protagonists become great pals and a little more, their secrets are revealed to one another and the story builds to most imaginative and satisfying conclusion. I won't give it away by saying more. If you are adventurous, see this movie that you won't soon forget...PS. I just learned that they are already planning a remake of this fine Swedish film, for the audience that cannot be bothered with subtitles I presume. What's that old cliché?: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.