Let The Right One In: Film Analysis

Let the Right One In Analysis

Director – Tomas Alfredson.
Writer – John Ajvide Lindqvist.
Year Created – 2008.
Genre/Sub Genre – Drama/Horror.
Country – Sweden.
Budget – $4,000,000 (Estimated).
Gross - £878,070 (UK).
Age Certificate – 15+.

Let the Right One In Poster Deconstruction

Characters:
-Kare Hedebrant – Oskar.
-Lina Leandersson (Elif Cevlan, Voice) – Eli.
-Per Ragnar – Hakan.
-Karin Bergquist – Erik.
-Henrik Dahl – Yvonne.
-Peter Carlberg – Lacke.
-Ika Nord – Virginia.
-Mikael Rahm – Jocke.
-Karl Robert Lindgren – Gosta.
-Anders T. Peedu – Morgan.
-Pale Olofsson – Larry.
-Cayetano Ruiz – Magister Avila.
-Johan Somnes – Andreas.
-Patrik Rydmark – Conny.
-Mikael Erhardsson – Martin.
-Rasmus Luthander – Jimmy.
-Soren Kallstigen – Erik’s Friend.
-Bernt Ostman – Virginia’s Nurse.
-Kajsa Linderholm – Teacher.

Overview of Let the Right One In:
Let the Right One In is a film of a lonely boy naked Oskar who is bulled daily at his school. He is commonly referred to as a pig which ties in with the first quote which is “Squeal like a Pig. So, squeal”. It isn’t until a new family move to the neighbourhood but do not mix in well with the community. Oskar immediately falls for Eli, his new neighbour who is actually a vampire. No matter how much she denies him, he is persistent up to the point of which they are friends. Eli, who relies on Hakan to kill people for her so she can live, finds it hard after Hakan messes up and gets himself caught attempting to murder a college student. It is at this point that Eli feeds on him before he dies after leaning out of the Hospital window to see her (Links back to the thought of Vampires having to be invited in). Eli and Oskar becomes a couple at this point and she gives him the strength to fight back against the bullies. This is where Oskar hits Conny who threatens to push him in freezing water. Oskar learns the realisation of what Eli is and is there to help her. As Eli leaves because it becomes far too dangerous, Conny’s Brother Jimmy decides to attempt to attack Oskar whilst he is having a swim. It is at this point that Eli comes to his rescue murdering Jimmy, and eventually running away with Oskar as her new Helper.

Todorov’s theory in placement of this film:
When reviewing this film, there are key points that can be linked back to Todorov’s theory of how a story is placed. His theory is as follows:
-Equilibrium (Normality).
-Disequilibrium (Conflict/Disruption of the Equilibrium).
-Recognition of the Disequilibrium (Notices the disruption).
-Attempts to repair the Disequilibrium.
-New Equilibrium (New normality).

We can see this theory in placement very well by following this for a basic structure:
Equilibrium – Oskar is lonely and bullied, nobody is willing to help him and he won’t stand up for himself.
Disequilibrium – A new family arrives in the neighborhood and people start dying horrid deaths.
Recognition of Disequilibrium – Oskar and Eli have become friends and Oskar realizes what Eli is when she drinks his blood off the floor after he cuts his hand.
Attempts to repair the Disequilibrium – Eli tries to leave as it is becoming too dangerous for Oskar.
New Equilibrium – Eli comes back to help Oskar whose life is in danger because of Jimmy, from which they both leave together.

Levi Strauss’s theory in placement of this film:
When we look at Levi Strauss’s theory, he believes that there are common characteristics hidden behind how we see the Hero and the Villain in a film. We can see his theory shown below:

HERO	VILLAIN
Good	Evil
Native	Outside
Love	Hate
Handsome	Ugly

When we look at this related to let the Right One In, it is somewhat unjustified as the Hero and Villain follow the same stereotypes. There is a slight difference with the Villains attitudes by picking on Oskar but they show no sign of differences in personal appearance. This sets them as a common human yet their villainous side is mainly on the inside with the intentions of violence. 

This image is a good example of the balance of Heroes and Villains with Conny (Left) and Oskar (Right). I specifically chose this image because it is iconic to the theory that the hero is always displayed on the right in conjunction to the villain who is placed on the left side of an image.