Friday Night Flicks

Let the Right One In (2008, Sweden) tells  the story of  Oskar and Eli. Two school age children who fall in love for the first time.  Oskar is a skinny blond weakling who is constantly picked on by schoolyard bullies. Eli is a dark haired gypsy looking girl who happens to be a vampire.

The story begins with Oskar practicing with a knife against an imaginary enemy. It’s at this time we meet Eli who moves into Oskar’s apartment building with her grandfather. It has all the appearances of love at first sight.

As the story progresses we learn more of Oskar and Eli’s relationship.  Conversations are had, candy shared and affections grow. During this time we also learn more of Eli’s condition. Her thirst for blood, her aversion to sunlight and her natural vampiric abilities,  tendencies and weaknesses.   The filmmakers did a great job of unveiling Eli’s conditions slowly throughout the movie. Things you expect to happen don’t, at least on the schedule you might have in your movie going mind.

Along with a wonderful story the visuals of this movie are well shot.This beauty of this film is its capture of the essence of a long cold Stockholm winter: People sip schnapps in local pubs, students practice swimming in huge indoor aquatic centers and frozen rivers dot the landscape accompanied by huge snow drifts.

The strong point of this movie is the believable relationship between Eli and Oskar. I found myself wanting the relationship to flourish while also finding myself concerned that the relationship couldn’t possibly last.

This flick should be put right on top of your Friday Night Flick queue.