Let The Right One In Vs. Let Me In
This is a subject that I feel quite strongly about, and agonized over the decison of whether to review each movie individually. But I have never known a project so universally hated from the start as the English language remake of the Swedish vampire movie, that despite being only four years old has already been elevated to the position of classic. So instead I have decided to compare the two versions, simply for the sake of comparison, because there are many prejudiced attitudes regarding Let Me In, which I feel must be put to rights.
I really do not feel Let Me In is as bad a movie as many believe it to be, so here is a little review dedicated to distinguishing both versions and recognizing their merits. This will include a comparison between; a) Oskar b) Hakan/Father c) Bullies d) Settings and cinematography e) Depictions of the story, and of course the depiction of Eli, the vampire child.
V.S.
Oskar V.S. Owen - Now I know that I have yet to begin any type of comparison, but I have to say that my ultimate and preferred choice is Owen. Why? Well, firstly I have to say that the character is simply more well rounded than his Swedish counterpart. The Oskar in the Swedish version seems rather indifferent to the fact that he is being bullied and his home life is not in the least bit traumatic, he has a mother and though she is overprotective she is still kind and caring, unlike Owen.
Whose home is, well, crap, his mother is an alcoholic who drinks until she's dead drunk and the bullying is simply more traumatic, in some scenes its just downright disturbing. We are shown the trauma and abuse he has endured, and its all a little more understandable as to why he runs away with the Eli character and his desire to escape the prosaic pressures of reality and integration with the adult world.
Owen my pick for the perfect Oscar.
The Bullies - Again despite a lack of comparison, my choice for the bullies would again be the English language version. Why? Because the bullies in the English language version are simply more threatening, they are more physically imposing than the Swedish bullies. The Bullies in the English version are taller and stronger than the Oskar character, plus the bullying scenes were more disturbing, they wedgie the poor kid until he pees his pants, slash him across the face with an atenna and like the original attempt to drown him. As I said before, the Oskar in the original just seemed very indifferent to the bullies, though this maybe because I don't consider the original bullies very intimidating, they look like ordinary twelve year olds.
Of course one could make the arguement that because the book is grounded in hard realism, that the portrayel of the bullies as twelve year olds is more realistic. But I consider the larger American bastards much more threatening than the Swedish bully brats. So in short if you want realism go with the Swedish version, but if you want good honest threat and villians to hate, go with the American version.
Hakan V.S. The Father - Now this character is a little more interesting and require a little more comparison. But in order to better understand the character I feel we must return to the book a little more. If you felt there was some ambiguity regarding the character in the Swedish film version, let me clarify for you now, he was a pedophile and his relationship with Eli was, shall we say, less than savioury. In the Swedish version however this is only implied, in the English language version, the character is a human thrall only to escape the pressures of adulthood, and has been with the Eli character since childhood.
Both characters are tortured and mildly sympathetic if not piteous, Hakan by the unnatural sexual attractions toward youg children that have plagued him all his adult life and the Father whose obsessive love relationship leads to the ultimate sacrifices, murder and suicide. Hakan in the Swedish version is played by Per Ragnar and in the English version by Richard Jenkins, who both offer similiar portrayals, only their motivations are different. They both appear stoic and emotion-less, you never really know what Ragner's Hakan is thinking but the emotions that Jenkin's Father is more obvious and something we as the audience can connect as the more tragic character. A close call, but my ultimate choice is Jenkin's Father.
Eli V.S. Abby - Now you may be wondering why on earth I have given so much credit to the English language version, particularly when that version seems to be the one so many people hate. This comaparison between the performances of Lina Leandersson and Chloe Moretz, may be subject to technicality as I am biased against Moretz, I cannot stand her. So ultimately my choice is Lina Leandersson, but with that said I would like to go in to some detail as to exactly why. Their performances are strangley similiar, their both lacking in any real three dimensional qualities and seem to be rather maudelin. But the reason I go with the Sweish version and also gave so much credit to the English version, I do not like the portrayal of Abby in that film. As the film so shamelessly implies Abby has been collecting gaurdians over the years, controlling them with the promise of unconditional love. This is what makes the relationship between the main characters less about love and more about meticulous manipulation.
I enjoy how the English version proffers more character development and more character motivations, but this is simply unforgivable. Ultimately the Swedish version offers what the book did and that is why our vampiric anti-hero and the love relationship is something we can sink our teeth into. (And yes, I have been waiting four reviews to use this joke)
THE PLOT - Yes, now is the time to review the differences in plot and setting. You may have guessed it, though you may not know it, the Swedish version is the winner. Whilst I enjoy the English version for the aforementioned reasons, there is a bundle of characters that are rarely seen and barely explained, such as Virginia, the english counterpart who appears could have been interesting yet only appears in two scenes and the police investigator who did not appear in either book or Swedish movie. Also the plot doesn't really seem to offer anthing new, some scenes are pratically shot for shot from the orginal or simply glanced over, like the bleeding when not originally invited scene.
The cinematography is comprised of warm colours predominantly orange and ember, and this is not good, the original Swedish film featured cold midnight blues and stark white, all to reflect the darkness of human desire whilst simultaneously allowing us to believe in the existence of vampires. Orange and ember is not threatening, warm colours do not reflect a grittily realistic world.
And still we have that strange deviation in characterization for Abby. So yes, the winner is Let the Right One In, to answer my own question Let Me In is still a good film, despite its faults both films are enjoyable. But the original is simply the best, what else can you really say.
Both characters are tortured and mildly sympathetic if not piteous, Hakan by the unnatural sexual attractions toward youg children that have plagued him all his adult life and the Father whose obsessive love relationship leads to the ultimate sacrifices, murder and suicide. Hakan in the Swedish version is played by Per Ragnar and in the English version by Richard Jenkins, who both offer similiar portrayals, only their motivations are different. They both appear stoic and emotion-less, you never really know what Ragner's Hakan is thinking but the emotions that Jenkin's Father is more obvious and something we as the audience can connect as the more tragic character. A close call, but my ultimate choice is Jenkin's Father.
Eli V.S. Abby - Now you may be wondering why on earth I have given so much credit to the English language version, particularly when that version seems to be the one so many people hate. This comaparison between the performances of Lina Leandersson and Chloe Moretz, may be subject to technicality as I am biased against Moretz, I cannot stand her. So ultimately my choice is Lina Leandersson, but with that said I would like to go in to some detail as to exactly why. Their performances are strangley similiar, their both lacking in any real three dimensional qualities and seem to be rather maudelin. But the reason I go with the Sweish version and also gave so much credit to the English version, I do not like the portrayal of Abby in that film. As the film so shamelessly implies Abby has been collecting gaurdians over the years, controlling them with the promise of unconditional love. This is what makes the relationship between the main characters less about love and more about meticulous manipulation.
I enjoy how the English version proffers more character development and more character motivations, but this is simply unforgivable. Ultimately the Swedish version offers what the book did and that is why our vampiric anti-hero and the love relationship is something we can sink our teeth into. (And yes, I have been waiting four reviews to use this joke)
THE PLOT - Yes, now is the time to review the differences in plot and setting. You may have guessed it, though you may not know it, the Swedish version is the winner. Whilst I enjoy the English version for the aforementioned reasons, there is a bundle of characters that are rarely seen and barely explained, such as Virginia, the english counterpart who appears could have been interesting yet only appears in two scenes and the police investigator who did not appear in either book or Swedish movie. Also the plot doesn't really seem to offer anthing new, some scenes are pratically shot for shot from the orginal or simply glanced over, like the bleeding when not originally invited scene.
The cinematography is comprised of warm colours predominantly orange and ember, and this is not good, the original Swedish film featured cold midnight blues and stark white, all to reflect the darkness of human desire whilst simultaneously allowing us to believe in the existence of vampires. Orange and ember is not threatening, warm colours do not reflect a grittily realistic world.
And still we have that strange deviation in characterization for Abby. So yes, the winner is Let the Right One In, to answer my own question Let Me In is still a good film, despite its faults both films are enjoyable. But the original is simply the best, what else can you really say.
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