So I liked Let Me In. Now before everyone is shocked by the fact that I finally watched a movie I liked, let me clarify that. How could I not like Let Me In? It’s such a direct rip-off of Let the Right One In, that there’s no way it could have been bad.
Let the Right One In is a masterpiece. I don’t know how else to say it. I hate even using that word because it’s so cliché but often times it’s the only word that accurately describes a work of art. Let the Right One In is a masterpiece. A lot of people out there will watch Let Me In and think it’s great, mainly because they haven’t seen the original. (I’m told that the book is even more beautiful than either film.)
Let Me In is the story of Owen and Abby. Owen is a nerdy, awkward kid trying to survive the bullies at school and the pending divorce at home. He has no friends, and essentially no family. Abby is new to Owen’s apartment building. She arrives late in the night, with no shoes, no expression and with a bizarre man we can only assume is her father. In the courtyard of their apartment building the two begin a bizarre friendship while in the town surrounding them a serial killer is on the loose.
SPOILERS COMING…SO DON’T READ IF YOU DON’T WANT IT RUINED…
As we know from the preview Abby is a vampire. She needs blood to live. The killer on the loose is a combination of her “father” and herself.
I haven’t read the book, big surprise, but when the film was announced I expected a return to that source material and not the 2008 Swedish horror film. But watching the movie last night, I was appalled by how many shots were lifted straight from the original film, but while the original film was subtle and artful, the remake was heavy handed and overt.
The hospital scene comes to mind. In Let the Right One In if you’re not paying attention or blink you might miss Eli as she bounds up the side of the hospital. In Let Me In they do everything but zoom in on our climbing the wall.
But what do you expect from the director of Cloverfield ? Originality? Art? Beauty? No, you don’t expect any of that. At least I hope you don’t, because if you do, you’ll be disappointed.
Despite all of my complaints about the project and the direction, I can’t say a single bad thing about the performances. Owen played by Kodi Smit-McPhee, Boy from The Road, was amazing. And Chloe Moretz , Hit-Girl from Kick-Ass, was even more amazing. Director Matt Reeves‘ best success in making this film was in casting and being able to pull these brilliant performances from two young actors. Chloe Moretz is the Jodi Foster of a generation. She’s a brilliant young actress that will continue to surprise us. I have to say she’s the best discovery in a decade. I can’t wait to see her upcoming work.
A friend brought up a great point after we watched the movie. He asked why in this day and age do we need to remake international films? It’s not as if we can’t find them. Everyone knows Netflix has everything. We no longer live in a world where foreign films are difficult to come by. Why then remake this film? Why not simply release the Swedish version?
Well, the answer is simple, Americans are too lazy to read subtitles. Essentially subtitles have killed art in American cinema. It’s sad but true. Think about all of the great films ruined when after being remade for American Audiences:
- Vanilla Sky from Open Your Eyes
- Insomnia (even the great Christopher Nolan couldn’t improve the original Insomnia)
- Tortilla Soup from Eat, Drink, Man, Woman
- The Vanishing from Spoorloos
- Point of No Return from La Femme Nikita. (Not to mention the two TV series based on this film.)
- City of Angels from Wings of Desire
- Solaris from Solaris
The only good one I can think of is Infernal Affairs remade as The Departed. That’s it. I am partial to The Magnificent Seven, but it is nowhere near as great as Seven Samurai.
So what movies are being ruined next? Well l0oks like another great horror/thriller The Orphanage is being remade for dumb Americans. Can’t wait for that.
