We, The Infected

I do not believe Owen becoming the next Thomas is inevitable. Nevertheless, I am struck afresh by how strongly LMI seems to favor the "cycle interpretation." Consider:

1) The movie begins with Thomas. At first I did not realize how significant this is. But given all the fascination with Abby, it is easy to forget that LMI is primarily about Owen. And given this Owen-centeredness, it is noteworthy that LMI starts, not with Owen, but with Thomas. Indeed, Thomas gets a surprising amount of screen time during the first half of the movie. Assuming that Reeves knows what he's doing (and I believe he does), the primary purpose for giving all this time to Thomas may be to develop Owen's character and story. LMI begins with Thomas. It ends with Owen. The implication is obvious.

2) The one time Owen and Thomas make eye contact seems visually designed to draw a connection between the two. Both are wearing hats, have something in their mouths, and are holding their hands to their mouths. As Thomas walks away, he pauses and turns back to glance at Owen. Thomas isn't stupid. He gets it even now. He's on his way out.

3) The soundtrack is not terribly hopeful. I am a visual learner, so it is very easy for me to neglect things like sound and score. Whenever I watch LMI, the first thought I always have is, "Oh, right - there's a soundtrack." I believe the sound, like the images and dialogue, is intended to communicate something. I have never received training in music, so I'm happy to be corrected, but the soundtrack strikes me as pretty consistent with Owen repeating Thomas' life. Yes, I know there are those subtle sounds of children laughing at the end of the credits. I've listened to those few seconds many times, wondering. Perhaps Owen could take a different path. (Indeed, I'd like to argue later for the possibility of Owen going his own way.) It's just that the soundtrack for the most part seems to favor an ominous outcome.

4) LMI is a horror movie. I rarely watch such movies anymore. During childhood I saw all the usual suspects (Halloween, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, etc.) countless times. But in the last 20 years I think I've seen a total of two (Scream, The Ring). So again, please feel free to correct me. But isn't it fair to say that horror movies don't usually have happy endings? Indeed, if a horror movie does manage to resolve everything, isn't it normal to tack on some concluding scene that throws everything up in the air again? I realize LMI is certainly not the typical horror movie. Nevertheless, does its very genre not imply an unpleasant future for Owen?

5)The filmstrip. I reckon there's nothing I could possibly say about this that hasn't already been said. Whether you love it or hate it, the filmstrip is a critical element of Let Me In. The filmstrip means something. Abby's gesture toward the filmstrip means something. Owen's reaction to the filmstrip means something. And whatever the sum total of all that is, I don't think it's supposed to be something good.

6) Unconditional love and acceptance is a theme in Let Me In. If Owen sees that future, if he gets it, if he realizes he may very well become Thomas, then that makes his decision to let Abby in all the more remarkable. I think this is what Reeves is going for - an almost unreal love shown for Abby, in spite of all the realities that go along with that. In other words, the cycle interpretation seems very consistent with what the movie is trying to show about Owen's level of devotion and acceptance.

Given how likely it is that Owen becomes the next Thomas, it seems the only way it won't happen that way is for Owen to man up and force their relationship and their future onto some other path. If the cycle is going to stop, he's the one who has to stop it. I think the movie does show him maturing and developing in that direction, in the direction of someone who could actually wrench Abby's life onto another course. But that's a topic for another post!

I agree that Owen as the new Thomas is not the inevitable. Each relationship Abby may have had over the years (and perhaps Thomas was the first, for all we know) has likely had its own path and outcome. An Abby who has been around for a long while would know and expect this. Yes, Owen might become the replacement Thomas (adoring yet aging provider of shelter & food). But that's a "might" and nothing more certain than that.

I think Reeves wants us to ponder such a path, not conclude it is the path.

How about the "Eat some now...save some for later..." message as an alternative? Reeves suggests another outcome here. Why else repeat it several times throughout the film? He even includes it in the final scene, perhaps as a reminder to us, so that we consider this as well.

I dunno about your point #6. If these two "if"s are going to happen, they _might_ be starting to occur to Owen during the train ride. But likely not; his head would still be churning through all that has happened and what just occurred. Rather, this is what might be coming up over the next week(s) or month(s) as he becomes accustomed to whatever comes next. During that time he'll have days to get things settled in his head and start to reflect and then ponder where things are going. Yet as a 12 or 13 yr old, this will not be easy.

This was the single factor that spun in my head for days after watching. What were the implications? Is that what Reeves meant? You point out a lot of similarities and symbolism, but they are entered into a linear equation. Up to that point on the train, we could assume that Owen and Thomas have traveled identical paths, as signified through the mentioned mirrored behaviors and acknowledgment of each other. But what if Owen is actually looking at "himself" in terms of a forewarning, providing him with the insight and wisdom to make a different choice? If Thomas had seen an older version of what he would become, (assuming he didn't) would he have decided to do what he did? Perhaps Owen seeing Thomas and understanding the situation is that very factor that breaks the cycle.

That's a really good point. Owen is going to have loads of time to mull that over: that this older man he saw in the doorway was once the boy in the filmstrip. Now that man is gone and he (Owen) is here instead.

Btw, I should argue this should be called "Will There Be a Cycle?" instead of "Can the Cycle Be Broken", eh?

I think Owen's major "out" is his father. That could be a release that ends the potential for a cycle.

Whereas Oskar has rejected his mother, his father, and his life in Blackeberg, Owen's situation might differ. We only know that Owen's father is inaccessible. But given what has occurred by the end of LMI it could well be that if Owen grows apart from Abby or comes to reject this path with her, he could turn to his dad, whom we do not see rejected by the son - as seen in LTROI.

gkmoberg1 wrote:I think Owen's major "out" is his father. That could be a release that ends the potential for a cycle.

Whereas Oskar has rejected his mother, his father, and his life in Blackeberg, Owen's situation might differ. We only know that Owen's father is inaccessible. But given what has occurred by the end of LMI it could well be that if Owen grows apart from Abby or comes to reject this path with her, he could turn to his dad, whom we do not see rejected by the son - as seen in LTROI.

Don't know about "rejected", more like "gave up on".

gkmoberg1 wrote:I think Owen's major "out" is his father. That could be a release that ends the potential for a cycle.

Whereas Oskar has rejected his mother, his father, and his life in Blackeberg, Owen's situation might differ. We only know that Owen's father is inaccessible. But given what has occurred by the end of LMI it could well be that if Owen grows apart from Abby or comes to reject this path with her, he could turn to his dad, whom we do not see rejected by the son - as seen in LTROI.

Don't quite buy that. That phone conversation pretty much seals the deal as far as I'm concerned. His dad shuts him down, disregards his question, his only desire to have another argument with the mother. Doesn't even return Owen's "I love you".

I think the moment Owen knocks on Abby's door is the point where he gives up on both of his parents. He is no longer concerned with good and evil at this point, or making any sort of decision that might somehow meet their expectations. I thing by the time he is on the train, he has clearly eliminated his parents as potential resources

Which conforms with my theory that his only other non-cycle option is to be turned, which I have always argued for rather stubbornly

You're right, I should have labeled the post "Will There Be a Cycle." For whatever reason I'm pretty bad at coming up with appropriate titles.

Casper wrote:

gkmoberg1 wrote:I think Owen's major "out" is his father. That could be a release that ends the potential for a cycle.

Whereas Oskar has rejected his mother, his father, and his life in Blackeberg, Owen's situation might differ. We only know that Owen's father is inaccessible. But given what has occurred by the end of LMI it could well be that if Owen grows apart from Abby or comes to reject this path with her, he could turn to his dad, whom we do not see rejected by the son - as seen in LTROI.

Don't quite buy that. That phone conversation pretty much seals the deal as far as I'm concerned. His dad shuts him down, disregards his question, his only desire to have another argument with the mother. Doesn't even return Owen's "I love you".

Yes, the dad completely latches onto his own distrust of his soon-to-be-x-wife's religious fervor, leaps to the presumption that this is why his son is calling and is so upset, doesn't stop to come down to his son's level because he so wrapped up in his frustrations and worries. Viola, disaster and Owen doesn't get to have the talk with his dad that he so very much wants to have. Owen may not be able to explicitly grasp all that but he realizes the "disconnect" and that he doesn't have the skills to bridge the communicative distance to his dad. But I don't think that's the same as rejecting or giving up on his dad. Yes, for that one call things don't work out. Yet Owen reached out to his dad for help and so I think he would likely do so again. A couple of weeks or months down the road, if he were to give it a try, I think he would find his dad very receptive to hear from him and try to reach out to his level and talk to Owen.

Casper wrote:I think the moment Owen knocks on Abby's door is the point where he gives up on both of his parents. He is no longer concerned with good and evil at this point, or making any sort of decision that might somehow meet their expectations. I thing by the time he is on the train, he has clearly eliminated his parents as potential resources

Which conforms with my theory that his only other non-cycle option is to be turned, which I have always argued for rather stubbornly

Yup!