Let The Right One In – cinema review
April 20, 2009 – 7:47 pm | by Lianne Jones
Let the Right One In is a strange and wonderful Swedish film about a reserved and bullied 12-year-old boy who finds himself in a most unusual relationship.
Oskar doesn’t have any friends and instead spends his time dreaming of getting revenge on Conny and the other bullies who make his life a misery. Things begin to change for Oskar though as he meets his new neighbour, a 12-year-old girl called Eli, while imagining revenge on his tormentors by stabbing a tree outside his home one evening. The two children talk and Eli tells Oskar they can’t be friends but, they continue to meet in the courtyard and strike up a friendship regardless of her words.
A series of murders in the area and Eli’s unusual behaviour eventually make Oskar realise that Eli is a vampire but, this does little to change his romantic feelings for her and so he accepts her for who she is, blood-sucking tendencies and all.
Let the Right One In is a unique and arty film with a brilliant plot, some great characters and a bit of dark humour. It is a strong example of how good a foreign-language film can be and is definitely worth a watch, as long as you don’t mind the subtitles.








