'Let Me In' - the Remake I Didn't Want to See Made

"Let The Right One In" did not need a remake. The 2008 Swedish film was a brilliant atmospheric piece of cinema, and I find it frustrating that American audiences can't embrace foreign movies more often (I should talk though). Do subtitles really have to be an impediment when they come across so much better than dopey English dubbing?



Regardless, its American remake "Let Me In" turns out to be a big surprise. Just when I was convinced that Hollywood studios would simply dumb it down to attract a youthful demographic, Matt Reeves' take on John Ajvide Lindqvist's novel, which in turn inspired Tomas Alfredson's movie, is amazingly respectful to its source. You can see throughout "Let Me In' how the material deeply affected Reeves and how he personalized the actions of the characters on screen.



The story remains the same, but the characters' names have been changed to protect the original. The setting has been changed to Los Alamos, New Mexico which appears to be as snowy as Sweden was. The year is 1983 and Ronald Reagan is President of the United States, talking about the "evil empire" on television. The advantage though of this film being set in the 80's is that the characters don't have to worry about not getting any reception on their cell phones because odds are they won't have any. This makes it especially lucky for the filmmakers as a result for they won't have to make any stupid excuses for cell phones not working when they should.



Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is a 12 year old boy who lives with his alcoholic mother (we never get a clear view of her face) and has no real friends to speak of. At school, he is constantly harassed by bullies who thoughtlessly subject him to even more humiliating tortures than Oskar dealt with in "Let The Right One In." Eventually he comes in contact with Abby (Chlo« Grace Moretz), a girl his age who has moved into his apartment building next door to him. Although she tells Owen that they can't be friends, they eventually bond once he gives her his Rubik's Cube to play with. She ends up solving it in a way that doesn't involve cheating. My brother would have just taken the stickers off the cube and put them back on with the colors altogether.



I really mean it when I say that the humiliations Owen goes through in this version are even worse than what Oskar went through. In some ways, Oskar had it easy compared to him. Director Matt Reeves (who previously made "Cloverfield") really captures how kids can be utterly cruel to one another, and it will bring back memories for those of us who frustratingly had to endure it. Seeing him practice his revenge on the bullies all by his lonesome makes us all the more sad as what we imagine doesn't always jive with reality.



While the kids may at times put up a tough fa§ade, their vulnerability is clearly evident in their eyes. As the movie goes on, the fact that Abby is a vampire (or a bloodsucker if you want to call her that) becomes a back issue. She and Owen are just two kids (one whom is older than they appear) who are struggling through the painful awkwardness of growing up. When they come in contact, they for once have someone they can relate to.



Both Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chlo« Grace Moretz are perfectly cast, and each has moments where their faces say more than words ever could. Kodi may be best remembered for "The Road" where he played Viggo Mortensen's' son, and inhabits Owen with all the isolation and helplessness that comes with him. Chlo« Grace Moretz did this after her amazing breakout performance in "Kick Ass," and as Abby shows a strong maturity beyond her years.



But I really have to applaud the adult actors who, while they don't have as much screen time as their younger colleagues, give depth to characters that could have just been simple clich©s. Richard Jenkins, still one of the most dependable character actors in movies, plays Abby's guardian Thomas. Through his scenes with Chlo«, he shows a caring man whose relationship with this girl has lasted longer than we can imagine. Richard makes us sympathize with this man even as he commits horrible acts for the sake of Abby's survival. When we first meet Thomas, he has become more weary with the passing of time and the dark deeds that have long weighed heavy on him.



Equally impressive is Elias Koteas who plays a police detective whose name never gets mentioned. The beauty of Elias' acting here is how incredibly subtle he is to where he fully inhabits his character with what looks like relative ease. This could just have been the typical policeman whom the audience is manipulated into despising, doing all the stupid things cops do in movies like this. But Elias gives the character a deep humanity to where you respect him even as you fear what he will do this Romeo & Juliet couple in the making. This is just a regular guy doing his job, and that makes his eventual fate seem all the more tragic.



"Let Me In" is not your typical jump-out-of-your-seat horror movie. There are a few moments like that, but the horror comes out of what cruelty people are subjected to, be it on the playground or anywhere else in town where you get your blood drained (and not by the Red Cross mind you). It also comes from where the line between what's right and what's wrong becomes blurred as we ask ourselves if we can pull away from the people we love so much to set things straight. What would we give up in the process? What would be willing to give up?



As an American remake of a foreign film, I figured the movie studio would just change the story to where the good guys get the bad guys and justice wins out in the end. You know, the typical kind of plot designed to make us all feel good at the end. To my astonishment, Matt Reeves never veers in that direction once, and he has made a film whose climax is left up to the viewer to interpret. Nothing is ever easily spelled out for the audience, and I admired him for staying true to that.



If there is a drawback to "Let Me In," it's that in being respectful to "Let The Right One In," not much is changed. For those who loved the 2008 movie as much as I did, there will be much to admire but few surprises to be had. Many of the situations remain the same as before while certain characters in the background get more or less depth than they did previously. And there is all that snow like before, but it looks very beautiful and it's a character of sorts in this movie.



While director Matt Reeves doesn't break much new ground with this interpretation, we can see how deeply he relates to Lindqvist's novel and its characters. In the end, "Let Me In"' is not a vampire movie as much as it is one about childhood and how rocky a road it is for some more than others (especially for those who don't physically grow up). It's Reeves' depth of feeling that really informs his film, and it gives this remake a power none of us expected it to have.



Oh yeah, there is 80's music to be heard throughout, but I kind of wished they put some more in as well. I still love listening to music from that crazy decade, and it would have been cool to see some bloodletting done to the tune of REO Speedwagon, Hall & Oates, or even Journey. How about something by Air Supply or Chicago? Oh well --



* * * ½ out of * * * *





See also:



Let The Right One In