Oskar bashes Eli in the face

[sauvin]

Yes, the movie has very little of the child-like playfulness you'd expect from "normal" twelve year olds, even the novel has little more. The movie has no "filler"; every scene advances or partially explains the story in some important way, and I guess the writers, directors or producers decided that showing the children just being children may have tipped the balance of sympathy towards them too far.

[drakkar]

The movie has no "filler"; every scene advances or partially explains the story in some important way...

Perhaps how it was decided. Maybe a good idea as well, but still...
In the directors commentary, John and Tomas said that the film focused on the story of Eli and Oskar, an everything else had to go. But still they could have fit in a bit more of the playfulness from the book into the characters.

... and I guess the writers, directors or producers decided that showing the children just being children may have tipped the balance of sympathy towards them too far.

Maybe, Oskar and Eli is more sympathetic portrayed than in the book, so that might be the trade off...

[NaKriege]

The one thing that kept me from hurling abuse on Oskar in all the languages I know anything about was that when he realised what he'd done, he was consumed with guilt. I don't think that was fear we were seeing, it was abject contrition. He'd just hit and possibly hurt the only thing in life he actually loved.

I regret the scene having been deleted, and regret even more it not having been developed just a bit more, for the hand-holding at its conclusion. In that one moment, their feelings for eachother cannot be plainer. They love eachother. Deeply.

I believe that what is keeping this scene out of the final cut is that the average moviegoer would have had exactly your knee-jerk reaction without enough of your reasonable follow up reaction. Oskar would have lost too much sympathy with too many people after the slap regardless of his abd Eli's reactions to it.

[Wolfchild]

Also I was puzzled as to why Oskar slapped Eli, this isn't common among boys they tend to punch, kick or grapple, girls are more likely to slap however.

I'm a bit surprised that noone has posted this yet, but everyone seems to have forgotten what Oskar's life is like. Being constantly tormented and bullied must have been building up a tower of rage within him, brick by brick. Just as Eli slipped up in the basement and gave Oskar a glimpse of the dark thing inside her, so in the slapping scene Oskar slipped up and gave Eli (and us) a glimpse of the dark thing that is inside of him. A brief flash of that rage burst out and it shocked them both.

I am glad this scene was cut because it would really have no place within the structure of the movie. However, it is a loss because we get to see Oskar display some charm in his effort to reconcile with Eli. I shows us perhaps something of what Eli sees in him. The film as it stands never shows Oskar being charming to anyone.

[PeteMork]

Also I was puzzled as to why Oskar slapped Eli, this isn't common among boys they tend to punch, kick or grapple, girls are more likely to slap however.

I'm a bit surprised that noone has posted this yet, but everyone seems to have forgotten what Oskar's life is like. Being constantly tormented and bullied must have been building up a tower of rage within him, brick by brick. Just as Eli slipped up in the basement and gave Oskar a glimpse of the dark thing inside her, so in the slapping scene Oskar slipped up and gave Eli (and us) a glimpse of the dark thing that is inside of him. A brief flash of that rage burst out and it shocked them both.

I am glad this scene was cut because it would really have no place within the structure of the movie. However, it is a loss because we get to see Oskar display some charm in his effort to reconcile with Eli. I shows us perhaps something of what Eli sees in him. The film as it stands never shows Oskar being charming to anyone.

I agree. Alfredson had to choose between balancing sympathy for Oskar against the effects of revealing this inner rage to a greater degree. I think he chose wisely. In my opinion, Alfredson makes up for the loss of Oskar's charm in this scene, by emphasizing his reaction a bit more to Eli's bleeding in the film, as opposed to the book.

[Jessy7217]

All the points made so far apply, but what I noticed in the novel was that Eli had some bad habits. (Yes, more than one ) What sets Oskar off is Eli's lack of honesty. She has trouble giving straight answers. In the novel Oskar actually asks something like "How do I know you are who you say you are?" and Eli in typical Eli fashion refuses to answer. I think in the film they folded all this into the scene where Eli comes in uninvited, and then Oskar asks "who are you?" (There is a whole other thread on that one).

I really like the deleted scene for all the reasons given, but also because my son used to express his displeasure by hissing at us.

Interesting. I watched the deleted scenes on a dvd I recently got, and in that one Eli is wearing the same piece of red clothing, as when Oskar goes to her place. I'd had the thought that the slap came after when Eli tried to give Oskar the money, and was asked how he got it.