I came away from the 2008 Swedish Vampire film "Let The Right One In" with two trains of thought. The first, which will be confirmed by the majority of people who have seen it, was of what a great film it was. Wonderful stylistic choices from casting, to photography to location to score....all impeccably built on top of a tender and unique story. For a contemporary film to have such a quality of originality directed with confident delicacy is rare and is to be congratulated. But this admiration was tempered with another thought...a feeling really. Or lack of it as the subtleties of the acting, the stillness and placing of the camera and beautiful and low key score had left me cold. Touched but not heartbroken. Emotionally aware of the drama but not emotionally affected by it. And that left me kind of disappointed. Not in the film, but in myself, for not being in the right mindset to 'get it'.
Then the American remake was announced. While many lovers of the original feared it would betray their beloved original film (and the acclaimed book on which it was based) I felt there was an opportunity to retell the story in a warmer, more cinematic way. While the remake could be a steaming pile of vampire guano, if it was reshaped for American audiences who prefer a less subtle, more overtly emotional approach, may be I'd make that emotional connection.
So, is it better than the original? Well, I can't speak for anybody else but yes...it is for me. The remake, now simply titled "Let Me In" is everything I could have hope for. Well nearly. Director Matt Reeves proves that Cloverfield wasn't a fluke and demonstrates he's matured as a storyteller. The film continues the tradition of long takes from the original which lets dread slowly, slowly build (whether it's the threat of Nosferatu or school bullies) and allows the performers to build their performances. Reeves has retained the subtext about the pain and confusion about growing up and finding out who you are, both as a personality and physically (that gender confusion thing is still in there). The philosophical/theological discussion is intact regarding the existence of evil and Reeves has also grasped the core of the story about loneliness and the need to make a genuine connection with another.
When SFX magazine reviewed the film they observed that the artistic choices in the film pushed it away from a feeling of real life, in a 5%-10% shift towards it being a movie version of real life. And if you nudge it to 15% - 20%, I agree with that statement. The photography is 20% warmer and more glossy...the way a hollywood movie is. The performances are 15% less studied and more polished; Chloe Moretz is 20% more vicious and Kodi Smit-McPhee is 20% more doe-eyed and vulnerable than their Swedish counterparts. The score too is 20% more distinctive and memorable than the original's; the major difference her is that while Johan Söderqvist's elegant, restrained music covered around two fifths of his film, Michael Giachinno's follow-up dominates a whooping four fifths of the running time.
Since the story itself is largely identical to the original it's the score, combined with with the collective decreases in subtlety mentioned above, that gives the film a more distinct vision; one that I prefer over it's sister movie. In story terms the new film makes one big gain and suffers one big loss. Gone is the freakish cat attack, which is a shocking gem of a scene to be ejected. However in it's place is a fantastic sequence of sustained suspense as Abby's carer hides in the backseat of a car to collect more fresh blood. The decision to excise much of the side plots revolving the other residents is astute too as it allows Reeves to focus on the kids.
So why is it nearly everything I could have hoped for? Despite the story and artistic changes which I personally favor...I still don't have a great emotional connection to the story. Not with the power I was expecting anyway. Maybe I need a director that's even more manipulative and even less subtle to adapt this great story...Spielberg are you listening? More likely, thematically the film just doesn't resonate with me in the way that Shawshank, Field Of Dreams, Jerry MacGuire and Good Will Hunting do. Regardless, this is a fantastic film, confidently made by all concerned, and is easily one of the films of the year.
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