Let the Right One In vs. Let Me In

For discussion of Matt Reeve's Film Let Me In

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cmfireflies
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Re: Let the Right One In vs. Let Me In

Post by cmfireflies » Sun Dec 23, 2012 9:06 pm

I think Owen was looking for a more personal connection and the cop wasn't it. I don't think the cop represents anything for Owen except an acknowledgement of the abstract costs of Abby's existence. I don't think the cop could have been Owen's friend, or was even aware that he needed one. It's the difference between a stranger's death and a friend's death: Owen might be sad that the cop had to die, but he had no connection to him. Abby was the one he cared about and the abstract satisfaction of doing the "right" thing isn't enough for Owen to give up Abby.

Of course Owen never had a chance to make this choice in the movie seeing how he couldn't have done anything to save the cop's life as soon as Abby woke up, but I really don't think the cop had any effect on Owen.
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Re: Let the Right One In vs. Let Me In

Post by danielma » Wed Dec 26, 2012 7:12 am

cmfireflies wrote:I think Owen was looking for a more personal connection and the cop wasn't it. I don't think the cop represents anything for Owen except an acknowledgement of the abstract costs of Abby's existence. I don't think the cop could have been Owen's friend, or was even aware that he needed one. It's the difference between a stranger's death and a friend's death: Owen might be sad that the cop had to die, but he had no connection to him. Abby was the one he cared about and the abstract satisfaction of doing the "right" thing isn't enough for Owen to give up Abby.

Of course Owen never had a chance to make this choice in the movie seeing how he couldn't have done anything to save the cop's life as soon as Abby woke up, but I really don't think the cop had any effect on Owen.
Agreed, I think if you are too look through all three versions of the story that the one re-occurant factor that could have been the potential "Angel" to Oskar/Owen is Mr Avalia/Mr Zorric...or I guess maybe even Tommy in the book...but it always seemed to me that the one potential "angel" who could have maybe effected Owen/Oskar's choice was his Gym teacher who is really one of the only adults that manages to forge something of a relationship with Owen/Oskar

I think that Lacke/The Cop was always a representation of the the ever lasting threat towards Eli/Abby and the costs that come from her exsistence...For all intensive purposes both Lacke and the Cop represent the "Pitchfork Carrying" townsfolk who are out to the destroy the monster and are the representation of the ever lasting threat that will be presented to Eli/Abby.

But in terms of anyone who could have had a potential positive effect on Oskar/Owen...It was always Avalia/Zorric that filled that role...in all three mediums I thought that was the one reoccurant.
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Nightrider
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Re: Let the Right One In vs. Let Me In

Post by Nightrider » Sat Feb 02, 2013 10:18 pm

Interesting comparison of two movies. It's long, but it's worth it.
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Re: Let the Right One In vs. Let Me In

Post by Hassildor » Sun Feb 03, 2013 4:04 am

That was a pretty comprehensive comparison. I don't think I've ever heard a review of Let Me In bring up the Now and Later theme (not that I have read or listened to many reviews of Let Me In in the first place).

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Re: Let the Right One In vs. Let Me In

Post by gattoparde59 » Sun Feb 03, 2013 12:04 pm

Nightrider wrote:Interesting comparison of two movies. It's long, but it's worth it.
A very articulate discussion, with a "good cop, bad cop" approach. The best point comes at the end when the "good cop" points out that this is a "film without an audience." Let the Right One In had a tiny audience to begin with. The novel's audience is even tinier at least in the US. Why finance something like this in the first place? I guess it was the evil spell cast by Twilight. The producers saw that movie making a "boatload of money" and they tried to get a slice for themselves.

The remake of Girl with the Dragon Tatoo suffered a similar fate. Anyone interested had already seen a film version, why go and see another one?

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Re: Let the Right One In vs. Let Me In

Post by Jameron » Tue Feb 05, 2013 1:16 am

Nightrider wrote:Interesting comparison of two movies. It's long, but it's worth it.
Good comparison, I'll have to listen to it again just to get some of their points straight in my head, because they tended to flit around a bit.

But it was heartening to see that they also didn't appreciate the cop in Let Me In.

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Re: Let the Right One In vs. Let Me In

Post by EEA » Tue Feb 05, 2013 3:28 am

The review does make some good points.

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Re: Let the Right One In vs. Let Me In

Post by Nightrider » Tue Feb 19, 2013 1:40 am

I found this on Tumblr. Don't know if it's real or not, but it made me laugh for almost 5 minutes... :lol:
Let The Right One In. vs. Let Me In.
I saw the movie Let The Right One In a few years ago (I believe it was a movie with subtitles?…anyways it was a movie about a boy and a vampire).

And I have been searching for a movie to watch and started watching the trailer for “Let Me In”….

and I was confused for a second…TWO VAMPIRE MOVIES WITH SIMILAR TITLES?

._. Lame. (Although I know the whole…you need to invite the vampire in before they can get into the house…”thing”).

Has anyone seen “Let Me In”?

edit: Starting to think “let me in” is a remake of “let the right one in”.
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Re: Let the Right One In vs. Let Me In

Post by Casper » Sun Feb 24, 2013 7:59 pm

Nightrider wrote:Interesting comparison of two movies. It's long, but it's worth it.

One of the better reviews I've seen, though it would have been nice if both guys had done their research before mis-remembering scenes. I think they also should have been familiar with Reeve's commentary about why he did certain things. Not to say that it justifies his decisions, but it would have made their argument stronger if they'd been familiar with it.

Many of their points I agree with. Namely, that LMI was too similar to LTROI to stand on its own, or rather, not quite different enough to avoid it's predecessor's shadow. I agree that Reeves spelled out a bit too much and assumed the audience needed the guidance. And of course I agree with the criticism of Reeve's changing things up with Thomas and replacing the drinking buddies with a detective. I cannot agree, however, that it should never have been made. Without the LMI trailer, I never would have found LTROI, or at least not until much, much later. I also believe it probably gave LTROI a larger American audience than it would have otherwise had. I also think, despite the valid criticisms towards LMI, that it probably affected a few people's lives along the same scale as LTROI. That is, was the catalyst for at least some of the infected.

Thanks for sharing.
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Re: Let the Right One In vs. Let Me In

Post by danielma » Fri Mar 01, 2013 2:24 pm

LMI is whole different animal. It's really a story about Abby. It's hinted that Thomas and Owen are interchangeable, only differentiated by their age. Abby is the central figure. The audience is invited to ask: What is Abby's appeal? I.e. why does Thomas kill? The whole movie is an answer to that question. We follow, step by step, as Owen ends up with Abby and at the end we understand Thomas. There's no hint that Abby masterminded or manipulated the events leading to Thomas's replacement by Owen, but there is the sense of fatality to LMI. Abby can't stop searching for a companion any more than Thomas can stop killing for her or Owen can stop from going to her. The characters do everything in their power to forestall the inevitable: Thomas with his pathetic tantrums when he comes back empty-handed, Owen with his call to a father that doesn't want him, even Abby with her warnings that "we can't be friends," but in the end, no one escapes the cycle, even if they all know what's going to happen. In this way, LMI is almost the opposite of LtROI: Oskar sees his future as a normal kid and he rejects it in favor of Eli, Owen sees his future as another Thomas and has no choice but to accept.
So if I'm reading you correctly then you're essentially saying that LMI is a movie about the creation of a Caretaker??? And in doing so, its a story about Abby's search for someone to be that companion?

I say this because that has always been my reading of the film as well and that is how I see them both differing. I think LTROI is not only a coming of age story but it is a story that deals with a socially aware and macabre love story of two pariahs accepting one another and healing each others wounds. While LMI is far more about the creation of the caretaker and what toll this life takes on the caretaker. Afterall, as you mentioned LMI opens up with the mystery of the Caretaker (he is literally the first character we see in the film as it is) and then the film plays out around that as it fills in the blanks of that mystery. Where as LTROI opens directly on Oskar and focuses on his story -- which is that mixture of Coming of Age and the love story.


However I would argue that people make the argument of "both films being so similar" for two reasons. Firstly the structure of the two films. Even though both films are focusing on different aspects, its hard to overlook the fact that at times both films seem remarkably similar in structure as per scene by scene setup. Secondly, I think a lot of it has to do with an individual's reading of LTROI. You and I are in agreeance that we see LTROI as a coming of age story but for another viewer, maybe they view it as Eli is looking for a replacement. Then that viewer sees LMI and maybe says to themselves "All this is doing is taking what was subtly suggested in LTROI and shoving it in my face in a vein effort to make sure I understand what's happening"...In that case then both films start to look remarkably similar to that audience member because they're applying the same school of thought to both films.

For me though, I view the films very differently from one another...my problems with LMI stem from the little things that annoy me about it, like the seemingly backwards journey that Owen goes through in terms of his morality
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