Year of release: 2008
Director: Tomas Alfredson
Stars: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Henrik Dahl, Karin Bergquist, Peter Carlberg, Ika Nord, Mikael Rahm
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Fantasy
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 8
Synopsis:Oscar is a young and lonely boy who lives with his mom in a suburb of Stockholm. One evening Oscar notices the arrival of new neighbors, who end up living in the apartment right next to his. The neighbors, an older gentleman and a young girl, are rarely to be seen, but Oscar strikes an unusual friendship with the young Eli who only comes out to play at night. As Oscar tries to know more about Eli he becomes more and more suspicious that there's more to her than meets the eye.
Tomas Alfredson shot "Let the Right One In" from an adaptation of the book with the same name by John Ajvide Lindqvist, also responsible for the screenplay. The film could have easily descended into the vampire frenzy which is currently on display with the "Twilight" saga, but instead, the film slowly builds the story and introduces the characters, before presenting it's more fantastical elements. The director smartly chooses to suggest more than to show - the viewer knows who Eli is and what she has to do to survive, but the film never falls trap of showing the more horrific moments. The relationship between the two young children are the center stage and that is shot so delicately and so candidly - their warmth and tenderness burns through the cold air of the Winter that surrounds them. The film is intelligent in it's choices and ends up being a very good film, always rewarding upon multiple viewings.
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