Let the right one in

[rebness]

Wow. So I finally got around to watching Let the Right One In and it was amazing, as I thought it would be. What I didn't expect was to be mesmerised by the performances of two child actors. Lina Leandersson surpasses Kirsten Dunst's Claudia as the creepiest vampire child. She just manages to portray the character as so much older.

I also found myself imagining Eli as Armand. The character has that same creepy aged-yet-innocent look and feel and Eli's savage innocence comes closer to the character than either Antonio Banderas or Matthew 'two brief scenes' Newton did.

I wasn't viewing Let the Right One In as an Anne Rice stan but I couldn't help drawing comparisons. Anyway, Eli was an awesome character.

I've seen the trailer for the American remake and I'm not really impressed. It looks like a good adaptation (if rather pointless) and has reasonably good reviews, but the actress potraying Eli Abby doesn't seem to get the character down so well. I also wonder if Eli's secret (uh, not the vampire one) is addressed in the American film. I hope so.

I really wanted to link to the clip where Eli discusses 'going steady' with Oskar because Leandersson's performance there is fantastic but I couldn't find a clip. So have the scene where Eli prompts him to fight back, instead:

Excellent film.

Comments

[mumsisdaughter]

This is a marvellous film, isn't it? I like the quietness of it, long scenes in the snow without any background music. I bet the US remake uses music where it's not needed. I agree about Eli/Armand although he's a few years older, Lina did a perfect job as did the boy who played Oskar. Remarkable performances from two young people.

[kyuuketsukirui.livejournal.com]

From what I've heard, no, the remake has ditched that aspect altogether, which doesn't really surprise me.

[londonesque.livejournal.com]

I love that film, I watched it last year at midnight on Christmas Day,whih made it even more perfect somehow.

[palelaura.livejournal.com]

I'm kind of dreading the remake. The original was all about the atmosphere...remakes tend to replace atmosphere with gore, sex and sudden loud noises designed to make you jump.

I should probably reserve judgement but I hate when they remake perfectly good films. It seems so unnecessary.

Have you read the book?