Monster or Child--A Narrative Weakness in LTROI

For discussion of Tomas Alfredson's Film Låt den rätte komma in
Post Reply
User avatar
dongregg
Posts: 3937
Joined: Sun Jul 21, 2013 10:58 pm
Location: Atlanta
Contact:

Re: Monster or Child--A Narrative Weakness in LTROI

Post by dongregg » Thu Jul 31, 2014 4:18 am

Klesk wrote:I think Elli does not need a servant. Except the first murder, Elli kills all the other victims. After the death of Lacke, she leaves the apartment on her own, without any help of a servant. The only thing she is looking for is a companion or a friend, because she doesn’t want to live alone. Oskar is a better choice for this and Oskar would be a very poor servant, even worse than Hakan. :lol:

Hakan kills for Eli, because it is the only way, he can show his love to Eli. Otherwise he can only offer his lust for her/his premature body, which Eli doesn’t really want.

So, Thesis M does not really work. :P
Thanks for weighing in on the thread, Klesk. Your first post since 2011??? Wow! :o
“For drama to deepen, we must see the loneliness of the monster and the cunning of the innocent.”

User avatar
Klesk
Posts: 225
Joined: Wed Dec 30, 2009 3:05 pm

Re: Monster or Child--A Narrative Weakness in LTROI

Post by Klesk » Thu Jul 31, 2014 4:21 pm

dongregg wrote: Thanks for weighing in on the thread, Klesk. Your first post since 2011??? Wow! :o
LMI will be aired on German Free TV these days and I am trying to get in the mood again. I never watched LMI before. :D
A creature of the night, that carries the light in itself.

User avatar
Pissball
Posts: 115
Joined: Wed May 31, 2017 6:37 pm

Re: Monster or Child--A Narrative Weakness in LTROI

Post by Pissball » Tue Nov 28, 2017 3:16 am

The scene in which Eli screams at Hakan for not getting the blood seems totally different.

Eli, in the film, is very sad and polite, especially with Oskar, you almost feel sorry for both of them, unlike the book in which he shows all the nuances of his personality, so there is no surprise, you could expect some "explosion" " "Eli's book, in fact it does, as the sacarsm of stupidity and the scene of the rubik, in the beginning when Oskar calls her ... stupid, in the scene of the door, always passive-aggressive, like a girl ... (not sexism) or a child.

In the film, however, she's always so sad and polite, mostly to Oskar, that another reaction seems chilling, at least for me, and even more combined with the old face, it makes you think she's a damn old crazy and lonely woman after all, because, you know, old lonely woman do need love too, and they are polite and sad too, and they have pets/puppies/cats? too, and I fear for little dork Oskar if he really upsets her, like the incompetent, silent and utterly resigned Per Ragnar's Hakan (well he's and adult and a murder already so who cares)

In the book, I see Eliskar?) as a couple of sociopaths if you will, two murders, two reckless, two vigilantes ? you choose, in which moments of fear, stupidity, bravery, alternate (not so much actually, Oskar is still bullied at the end)
In the film they are two sad souls, but the power is undoubtedly on Eli's vampire side and "experience", which makes them look like mom/protector- son/protected. Although the book plays with this idea, comming from Oskar's mind I see that as a typical boy/man - girl/woman relantionship dynamic, in fact, in that passage Oskar is in rebellious attitude to his "mom"? Eli, he's not summisive. They are a couple after all, or friends.

That's why I think many people misinterpret their relationship and went with Rendfield's theory.
But, going straight to the question there are two signs that destroys the M theory:

1) The canon, we know JAL didn't write that (TA view is more ambigous tho)
2) A 12 years old human is totally useless for that, he can't even take care of his own, how the hell he would be her "guardian".. No sense at all. He can't even rent an apartment.

User avatar
dongregg
Posts: 3937
Joined: Sun Jul 21, 2013 10:58 pm
Location: Atlanta
Contact:

Re: Monster or Child--A Narrative Weakness in LTROI

Post by dongregg » Tue Nov 28, 2017 5:52 am

About Eli screaming at Håkan when he came back without blood--Although Eli sounds furious, StayAway interpreted it as sounding as though Eli is on the edge of hysteria because she knew what would necessarily follow. That changed the way I see and hear that scene now.

Poor Håkan never takes his eyes off Eli during the scene.
“For drama to deepen, we must see the loneliness of the monster and the cunning of the innocent.”

User avatar
ltroifanatic
Posts: 557
Joined: Mon Sep 14, 2015 1:35 am
Location: Australia

Re: Monster or Child--A Narrative Weakness in LTROI

Post by ltroifanatic » Wed Nov 29, 2017 11:28 am

Wow.What a thread.Deep deep stuff.Maybe Eli is both furious and near hysterical.Furious because her "helper " is no help at all and terrified about what that means he/she will have to do.As for Hakan maybe he's scared of what Eli might do to him or possibly he's scared of her being caught? In his sick mind he genuinely believes he loves her so maybe it's self loathing that he feels.Having put her in danger because of his ineptness.He watches her reaction and begs forgiveness like a puppy that's displeased it's master. :think:
Please Oskar.Be me for a little while.

Post Reply

Return to “Let The Right One In (Film)”