Let the Right One In
Nov. 24th, 2008 12:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alonewiththemoonShort review: I loved it, in the way that only something very uncomfortable can be loved. It was provocative in theme and content. I really liked the way the movie built up your sympathies for certain characters, so that you cheer their actions on, only to suddenly stop and realize that you *want* the characters to do horrible, bad things, and what does that say about you? The two child actors are brilliant and beautiful in a way that I don't think American child actors would ever be allowed to be, at least not without tons of controversy. Obviously it's a bit of a stereotype in vampire films and literature to be dealing with the theme of the cusp between childhood and adulthood, but this is really something powerful on a visceral level.
One of the things I really liked about the film was the way in which backstory was never fleshed out but shown through experience. We slowly gather that Oskar's parents are divorced, that his father is gay, and perhaps this is some of the reason why Oskar is bullied so badly at school. And the man who travels with Eli--we never learn his backstory or why he travels with her, but I suspect his story would be very much like Oskar's own. Perhaps he too had been with Eli since he was 12, and his story is Oskar's future. Which then leads one to really disturbing questions about the man and Eli's relationship, and the future of Oskar and Eli's relationship. Is is still pedophilia if the "child" is really far older than the adult? What if the adult went through his sexual awakening with only the "child" for his partner, what would that do to one's developing sexuality? And the "child" in this case is hardly some helpless victim, very very far from it. She captures a partner because she needs an assistant, calculated and manipulative. I think she really loves them, though, in a way that could even be emotionally generous and eager to please, as when she tried to eat the piece of candy because it was making Oskar so sad that she wouldn't.
That brief flash of a scar, I have learned through reading up on it, is indeed exactly what you suspect it is (and makes me surprised the film is only rated R in its US release). I liked how it didn't change anything for Oskar. Gay or straight isn't an issue for him; there is only love.
But while his love seems innocent and pure, we know, from what we saw of the earlier assistant, that it will lead him to do very bad things for Eli's sake. We want to celebrate their love and be touched by it, just as we want to cheer on Eli at a climactic scene near the end, but it will lead to horror. As I said above, it makes you question yourself, and to some extent just what human nature really is. Eli's vampire state is bestial, but is that what lies beneath the surface of us all? How easy it is to slip from bullied to bully.
On a side note, my dislike for most Kendall Square theatre patrons was reaffirmed. People responded to gruesome things with highly inappropriate laughter, I think because it is easier to laugh than to think about/empathize with uncomfortable things. It makes me sad for them, though it doesn't stop me from wishing they'd gone to some other movie.
This weekend I also sealed up all the windows, which made an immediate difference in the house, dealt with an RCN phone thing, went to the vet's with Ianto, made a pizza, danced, cleaned the tub, took a bath and did one of the things on my list of dance goals for 2008, which is to put together a handful of 20 minute routines to have on tap for whenever I need one. The one I did last night was very classic and full of music I love but hopefully not boring for a restaurant/party crowd who knows that kind of music. Next I'll put together a more pop oriented one appropriate for any kind of audience, and then a couple more of each. My foot injury derailed things so much for me this year, so it feels good to actually get some goals accomplished in the last months of the year. Anyway it was a very productive weekend.
Ianto's doing well. He has some kind of low grade infection and fever, so he's on amoxycillan for a week. Because he's on prednisone, which is an immunosuppressant, this kind of thing can happen frequently. Luckily he's so, so good about taking medications. This one isn't too awful. The vet also agreed with me, looking at his teeth, that he's probably much closer to 4 than 2. His incisors show the kind of wear that is characteristic of a few years' worth of chewing on cage bars :-( and his canines are getting that translucent look that older ferret canines get. But he continues to maintain very well on a low dose of prednisone and is in generally good health, so I think we'll get some good time with him. The trip to the vet's was a good bonding experience; he was actually asking to be picked up, which is new and says he sees me as safety. Yay little heartwarming weasel :-)
One of the things I really liked about the film was the way in which backstory was never fleshed out but shown through experience. We slowly gather that Oskar's parents are divorced, that his father is gay, and perhaps this is some of the reason why Oskar is bullied so badly at school. And the man who travels with Eli--we never learn his backstory or why he travels with her, but I suspect his story would be very much like Oskar's own. Perhaps he too had been with Eli since he was 12, and his story is Oskar's future. Which then leads one to really disturbing questions about the man and Eli's relationship, and the future of Oskar and Eli's relationship. Is is still pedophilia if the "child" is really far older than the adult? What if the adult went through his sexual awakening with only the "child" for his partner, what would that do to one's developing sexuality? And the "child" in this case is hardly some helpless victim, very very far from it. She captures a partner because she needs an assistant, calculated and manipulative. I think she really loves them, though, in a way that could even be emotionally generous and eager to please, as when she tried to eat the piece of candy because it was making Oskar so sad that she wouldn't.
That brief flash of a scar, I have learned through reading up on it, is indeed exactly what you suspect it is (and makes me surprised the film is only rated R in its US release). I liked how it didn't change anything for Oskar. Gay or straight isn't an issue for him; there is only love.
But while his love seems innocent and pure, we know, from what we saw of the earlier assistant, that it will lead him to do very bad things for Eli's sake. We want to celebrate their love and be touched by it, just as we want to cheer on Eli at a climactic scene near the end, but it will lead to horror. As I said above, it makes you question yourself, and to some extent just what human nature really is. Eli's vampire state is bestial, but is that what lies beneath the surface of us all? How easy it is to slip from bullied to bully.
On a side note, my dislike for most Kendall Square theatre patrons was reaffirmed. People responded to gruesome things with highly inappropriate laughter, I think because it is easier to laugh than to think about/empathize with uncomfortable things. It makes me sad for them, though it doesn't stop me from wishing they'd gone to some other movie.
This weekend I also sealed up all the windows, which made an immediate difference in the house, dealt with an RCN phone thing, went to the vet's with Ianto, made a pizza, danced, cleaned the tub, took a bath and did one of the things on my list of dance goals for 2008, which is to put together a handful of 20 minute routines to have on tap for whenever I need one. The one I did last night was very classic and full of music I love but hopefully not boring for a restaurant/party crowd who knows that kind of music. Next I'll put together a more pop oriented one appropriate for any kind of audience, and then a couple more of each. My foot injury derailed things so much for me this year, so it feels good to actually get some goals accomplished in the last months of the year. Anyway it was a very productive weekend.
Ianto's doing well. He has some kind of low grade infection and fever, so he's on amoxycillan for a week. Because he's on prednisone, which is an immunosuppressant, this kind of thing can happen frequently. Luckily he's so, so good about taking medications. This one isn't too awful. The vet also agreed with me, looking at his teeth, that he's probably much closer to 4 than 2. His incisors show the kind of wear that is characteristic of a few years' worth of chewing on cage bars :-( and his canines are getting that translucent look that older ferret canines get. But he continues to maintain very well on a low dose of prednisone and is in generally good health, so I think we'll get some good time with him. The trip to the vet's was a good bonding experience; he was actually asking to be picked up, which is new and says he sees me as safety. Yay little heartwarming weasel :-)
