Let Me In
Like so many other remakes of foreign films, fans of the original version will be up in arms about Matt Reeves’s adaptation of the same John Ajvide Lindqvist novel that led to the 2008 masterpiece, “Let the Right One In.”
And I do love “Let the Right One In.” It was a vampire movie unlike anything we’d ever seen. No bells and whistles (or wooden stakes or Holy water)–just the bare bones of a haunting story between a stoic and lonely boy and a girl whose curse has made life difficult for everyone in her life.
Rest easy, fellow fans. Reeves has done proud by that haunted source with an American version that resonates with pain and provocation that returns American vampires to the shadows. You won’t find any of the turgid teen melodrama of “Twilight” here–as with “Nosferatu,” being a vampire is genuinely a curse.
The story is the same as in the Swedish original. Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is a 12-year-old boy whose parents are divorced, but he lives with his mother, who is often strung out on drugs and lacking in parental responsibility. He’s bullied at school by three kids, who terrorize him verbally and physically (one attack, taking place in a locker room, is particularly hard to watch). When not at school, he can often be found outside their apartment complex, on the snow-covered playground equipment.
One day, new neighbors arrive. An old man (Richard Jenkins), whose habits and compulsions border on the unsettling, and 12 year-old Abby (Chloe Grace Moretz), who doesn’t go to school, doesn’t come out during the day, and doesn’t wear shoes. She and Owen strike up a tenuous bond, but Abby makes things clear: friendship is out.
If you’ve seen the original, you know where this is headed. If you haven’t, well, I’ll allow you to discover for yourself the secrets and emotions that reverberate from this story’s tortured soul for yourself. Reeves isn’t afraid of probing the pains of childhood and the fear of the unexplained. Who knew the director of the narcissistic and shaky-cammed monster movie cliches in “Cloverfield” had such depths in him? Following him down this particular heart of darkness is composer Michael Giacchino, whose rich and haunting score could net him a second straight Oscar…
…Speaking of Oscar, my hope is that the critics will help get Smit-McPhee and Moretz (and Reeves, at least for his screenplay) on the ballot (or even in the discussion) for their heartfelt and memorable work here. These two are stars in the making–Smit-McPhee (who also shown in last year’s “The Road”) at least as a character actor.
But Moretz? Well, between her performance here and her performance as Hit Girl in “Kick Ass,” let’s just say she’s gonna have a passionate following for a long time. In both films, she proved she could be tough yet vulnerable, smart yet naïve about how the world really is, and truly magnetic onscreen. The camera loves her, and with the right material, well, she’s proven herself one of the most exciting actors to come along in years.
As much as I genuinely love “Let Me In,” it lacks the hold of “Let the Right One In,” even if it follows the same fundamental story. The earlier film was just mesmerizing. This one, for all its successes, just lacks something the original film had: the element of surprise. Here, all that surprises is how much Hollywood got this remake right. Still, there are worse things for a film to be. Thankfully, Reeves and his cast and crew are too talented to want to find out.
