follows, and the film as a whole. The pace of Oskar’s existence determines the pace of the film, as it should.
Oskar (Käre Hedebrant) rehearses a violent rebuttal to schoolyard bullying in LET THE RIGHT ONE IN.
pluck almost atavistic nerves while skating just above truly taboo—as in really forbidden—con- cepts, images and icons makes them forever com- pelling. This is particularly true of TWILIGHT and LET THE RIGHT ONE IN; the fact that both are also so thoroughly engaging and entertaining is a major plus, too. Both films focus on how young outsiders gravitate to one another, and the consequences of that gravitational pull, both positive and negative. In LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, it’s the plight of blonde, frail Oskar (Käre Hedebrant) and his budding relationship with Eli (Lina Leandersson), the mysterious “new girl” in the apartment next door, that drives the narrative. And mind you, it’s not the vampire movie synopsis you’ll read at most venues that adequately summarizes the film: the focus throughout is on Oskar’s increas- ingly dire position in the dangerous arena of Middle School, outside the classroom, that shapes the tale.
From its initial moments, the tactile quality of the entire film—the use of sound, from the icy winds to the crunch of snow (real snow!) under- foot—attunes one to truer experience of winter than most films even approach. We feel the cold throughout, in part due to (I kid you not) Oskar’s runny nose—unlike most screen children, Oskar inhabits his world as most children do, snot-slicked upper lip and all. In one memorable image, we watch as the heat vapor from Oskar’s bare hand against a cold window pane slowly evaporates. This meditative immediacy of experience—with imag- ery and audio so keyed to the sounds of its tale’s season—lends considerable weight to all that
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Oskar is mercilessly bullied at Middle School—awakening a vio- lent, vengeful fantasy life in the lad, who is, from the first words and (snowy) frames of the movie, already obsessed with knives and finding some way of lashing out at his tormentors—and his daily ordeal is deftly sketched as a mounting life-and-death situa- tion. None of the adults in Oskar’s life are even remotely aware of his situation. True to most bullied kids’ experience, it’s all happening out of sight, and Oskar maintains his silence
if only as a way of preserving what shred of dig- nity is left to him (when adults are informed or involved, they succeed only in making things worse for the boy).
Significantly, Oskar meets Eli outside the school confines (unlike the vampires of TWILIGHT, no attempt is made to integrate Eli into school life, which further sets her apart as an outsider), on the jungle gym outside their apartment com- plex; they bond over a Rubik’s Cube, something Eli has never seen before but eerily masters. In time, it becomes evident that not only is Eli a vam- pire, but she further asserts, more than once, that she “is not a girl.” As in the novel, we are shown things Oskar doesn’t see or know (more on that shortly), but it is Oskar’s experience—the scapegoat’s life of the unfairly bullied weakling, the fair-haired easy victim—that really shapes the cinematic narrative.
That it does not shape his budding relation- ship with Eli is vital, too: Oskar only mentions his situation once, by inference, when he tells Eli the truth about the bandage on his cheek— moments after having lied to his mother about the wound, meted out by the gang led by Conny (Patrik Rydmark). He doesn’t need to say more— and that is among the film’s wisest, truest storytelling strokes. With Eli, Oskar doesn’t need to say more. This is the unspoken reality Eli quickly recognizes and ultimately plays a role in addressing; a wound on Oskar’s cheek speaks volumes. A terse, whispered two sentence ex- change between Oskar and Eli about that scratch on his cheek prompts Eli to suggest Oskar de- fend himself; he does, with one single sweeping
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