Did anyone else like LMI better as a film?

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BurgerPrince
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Did anyone else like LMI better as a film?

Post by BurgerPrince » Sat Jun 08, 2013 10:53 pm

It's understandable that people would like the original better, not only because it's painfully true that American adaptions tend to screw up foreign films, but also because of the sense of nostalgia that the viewer has attached to the original that could be replaced by no adaption or sequel. Often, people would tend to view the American film with a negative bias, due to the nostalgic charm of the original and the screw-ups of Hollywood. I however, look at both films from a different perspective, because I am in a position where I actually saw the American film first. I remember how I saw it last year once, loved it, then had fun watching the Swedish film a couple of times over this winter, then enjoyed reading the book twice over, and then bought the American version on blu-ray, saw it again a couple of times again and loved it even more. But now we're getting off topic, so let's move on. Put aside the nostalgia I have attached to LMI, I do honestly see LMI better than LTROI as a film, although neither can top the book. (I'll clarify, I have nothing against the Swedish film, as I really did like it, just not as much as LMI) It's true that LTROI did include some more plot detail from the book than LMI did, but does quantity really equal quality? The Swedish film's flaws do become apparent in which that you may not feel so attached to most of the characters other than Eli and Oskar if you did not read the book. Meanwhile, when watching LMI, I didn't have to read the book, I only had to watch and pay attention to care about the characters.

Present in the book and Swedish film are the alcoholics (Lacke, Virginia, the others). Although I felt sorry for Lacke's losses, until I read the book, they barely felt like important characters at all except in the regard that they helped to advance the plot. They felt too distracting from the main characters in the Swedish film, and Reeves solved this problem by keeping them in LMI, but reducing their roles and bringing in the police investigation to help advance the plot (Which actually was a critical part of the book, yet was not in the Swedish film). In LMI, Larry and Virginia are just minor characters, yet in their few moments on screen, they are living characters, you can just watch to understand that they're a strained couple (as evident in their frequent arguments), and you do feel sorry for Larry as he is losing his wife, but at the same time, they don't distract the viewer from Owen and Abby. (You also see Virginia biting herself as a vampire, which was also in the book, but not in the Swedish film.)

Hokan (Yes, I know how his name is spelled, but in the Scandinavian alphebet, the a under a circle is pronounced like a deep O) is a character as vital as Eli and Oskar, but in the Swedish film, although you feel sorry for him, you don't understand him much as a character unless you read the book. You know that he cares for Eli, but you don't know why he cares and kills for Eli. Unless you read the book, you don't know how deep of a character he is, the struggles he faces, and the fact that he loves Eli as a pedophile. In LMI, they likewise couldn't fit so many details of his character into the movie either, but through the direction and Richard's acting, he is a much more human character than in the Swedish film, letting his actions speak for him, and you later understand that he loved and procured blood for Abby because he in fact was her boyfriend since he was around 13 years old. (Also, though one who read the book would care for Hokan, if they tried to blatantly throw in either film that he was a pedophile, believe me, most viewers who didn't read the book would NOT like him and would rather want to see him get busted by Chris Hansen. :lol:)

In the book, the main bad guys of the story themselves, the bully Jonny and his brother Jimmy, are actually very human characters that the reader can relate to and pity for. However, in the Swedish film, you only feel sorry for Conny and his friends in the end when they suddenly feel the weight of what would've happened to Oskar. When you first see Jimmy, you see him teasing Conny, so you kinda get that Conny is a jerk because his brother is one, but as you see him getting mildly teased in the Swedish film, you don't feel sorry for him at all. (Also, before Jimmy runs in, WHY did they have Conny yelling random insults at people walking by? He just looks like an idiot when he does it and it makes you just hate him more.) However, in LMI, you see Kenny being outright bullied and humiliated by his brother in front of his friends, as his brother calls him "little girl" just as Kenny calls Owen, which makes you actually kinda pity Kenny as a living character, as opposed to hating him more and feeling as if he had been getting more of what he deserved.

This also leads to another major component of the film, the bullying. I really liked the horror scenes of LMI, but what I found most horrific and frightening of all were indeed the bullying scenes, as LMI did a better job than the Swedish film in capturing the feeling and fear of getting bullied. Make no mistake, bullying in fact causes many youths all over the world to not go to school out of fear of bullying, I've seen it and I've been bullied myself, it really is frightening to endure. LMI also did a much better job than the Swedish film in capturing Owen's isolation and insecurity, as he had neglectful parents and no friends until he met Abby. Also to be noted is that in LMI, Oskar is shown to suffer urinary incontinence, which he is severely bullied for, and he eats a lot of junk food to bury his troubles, which are all details present in the book but not the Swedish film. As the plot unfolds, viewer really understands how society's neglect and mistreatment of Owen drove him down the path of evil.

LMI is also criticized for its use of Special Effects. People criticize how the CG looked crappy in the Jogger scene, and although it could've been better, the scene was darkened to the point where you don't really notice the CG, and I think the cast did a fine job with that. People criticize how Abby's face changed in "Vamp-mode" and how she had super powers when she did so, but they forget that it was in the book, as Eli's face did change in the part where Oskar cut his finger to make a blood pact, and as a vampire, she had to have had super-powers in both films as well as in the book. LMI is also criticized for leaving out the "Be me" scene, and although I don't think it would've hurt to keep it in the main film, you can watch it as a deleted scene, and Matt Reeves is kinda right that the viewer would already understand that Owen would not let Abby go and would do anything for her in the scene where he holds her after she stopped bleeding, which is also of course enforced by the cop's death scene and the pool scene.

All in all, I liked LMI better than the Swedish version as a film, in terms of quality, which is more important than quantity, because through the acting, production, and direction, the story of LMI is fleshed out and humanized on screen better in the Swedish film. Now again, I have nothing against the Swedish film, I really did enjoy watching it, but simply not as much as LMI. Both LMI and the Swedish version are great films, and people forget that LMI is an adaption, not a remake. What truly separates LMI from LTROI is that LMI deals with different themes and a different setting, in which that it does not have to follow the book 100%, it has enough variation to stand out as its own film, whose characters, although based on the same archetypes, are technically different from the Swedish characters. (LMI is also criticized for omitting Eli's castration and making Abby a girl, but keep in mind that Abby is a different character than Eli. I actually liked how when Abby said, "I'm not a girl," she did not mean "I was a boy," she meant "I'm not human. I am nothing," as she was expressing her guilt and shame over what she had done, as well as her isolation, and in that regard, I find her a much deeper character than Eli was in the Swedish movie.) Although of course, the best way to experience the story is by reading the book, which neither of the films put together come close to topping.

(Sorry about making such a long post, I just had to get it all out there!)
Last edited by BurgerPrince on Sat Jun 08, 2013 11:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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BurgerPrince
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Re: Did anyone else like LMI better as a film?

Post by BurgerPrince » Sat Jun 08, 2013 11:04 pm

Also, LMI was also much better than the Swedish movie especially in the pool-scene. However, I myself will not explain how so, because I don't have time to keep going on and on about this subject, and because someone else explained it perfectly for me in a blog post:
http://brianlovesthis.tumblr.com/post/3 ... re-let-the


Also, what I like about LMI is that the ending is still ambiguous. I know about "Let the Old Dreams Die," it's good to know that Eli and Oskar live happily ever after... although in a dark, sinister way. However, the problem is that LTODD basically killed the ambiguity of LTROI's ending, and as LMI is technically a different story, LTODD does not apply to it. (Think of it this way, as the "Crossroads" comic book was written as a prequel to LMI, it doesn't apply to LTROI) The ending of LMI is still uncertain, Owen can still stay mortal, there are still so many different ways to interpret the ending, which really adds the icing to the cake. The ambiguity of the story's ending is what makes it so addicting and thought-provoking to think about in the first place. ;)
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Re: Did anyone else like LMI better as a film?

Post by intrige » Sat Jun 08, 2013 11:32 pm

I actually read through the whole thing, normally when it is LMI talk, it's a shame to admit that I usually ignore it, sorry! But because you're a new member and it was kinda long, I figured.. what the hey..

So, I do see some of your points. I and a few others have been known to be abselutly mad at the makers of LMI, but now it is quite a while ago and I am much more at ease with it. And I have began to think, well I didn't like this. But what did I like?
Well fir starters, Kodi Mcfee or whatever he's called, from the road, and Gcloe Moretz from.. Lots of things, but before LMI she was hit girl in kick-ass. So when I saw that they were casted, even though "Eli" I mean Abby, wouldn't have dark hair, I knw she could act so that's good news. And I was looking forward to see what they could do. I can go back to what I thought of the roles later.

I did not like the CGI when envolving under the bridge and when climbing up the hosbital, and her glowing eyes and yeah. A bit too deamon. Eli's face did change in the book, but that was more of a facial expression, not snik and dark around eyes and glowing eyes. So as with so much else, they stepped it up a bit more than what I liked. But what CGI I did like was when Abby attacted Verginia, and when Verginia bit herself and died of the sun. I did not like the scenes in other ways, but I liked the effects that were used. Like, when Abby attaced Verginia, I found Abby to be too agressive. I liked Eli's calm way of doing it, more as a need and not as.. letting out anger? I donno.. But I really liked the shots in those scenes. And With Vergnia burning, I really liked the effects, her turning red and all that. But I did not like that Verginia did not chose for the blinds to be opened, like in LTROI and book. A nurse just did it, and she died..

I really liked the bullying too, in this one, and that we began to feel for Kenny even, also. It is a bit standard, big kids bully small ones, but that is pretty normal. In LTROI there's a deleted bully scene from the bathroom right in the very beginning almost. Where Oskar is forec to scream like a pig. It was later removed because TA thought it was to brutal too early. I think it should have stayed, because first time I saw it I seriously teared up. (Have been bullied too, quite a lot of us infected who have actually). So yeah, it is not like I didn't feel sorry for Oskar, but I could have much earlier. While in LMI they made those kind of scenes very early, and I liked that.

I have lots of issued with the lot, that Thomas was her former boyfriend, which to me makes Abby and Owens relationship a bit more synical and less special. When compared to Eli who has been alone for 200 years, not even had a playmate. While Abby has at least had one boyfriend before, and use them in the "circle" as we say. I really lied the idea that Eli used to be a boy, in brings a lot of interesting topics up about both genderlessness, sexlessness and weather or not thinking or figuring out you're gay should stop you in having a relationship. I also found it quite sweet that Oskar never in his doubt, ever doubted that he wanted to be with Eli, only thinking regarding who he was now, when he liked someone who used to be a boy. It is unexpected, and very interesting. LMI really could have the chanse to explore that, being a "readaptation" and all. But they shut it completely out, which I think made them lose a few poits at least from me.

I find Eli much deeper than Abby (as I just have pointed out) but I don't find Abby to be a dry and uninteresting character. Just not one as compelling. Owen I do find too winpy. Oskar was bullied, but one of the things I really liked about LTROI bovie and book was that Oskar was so angry, so obsessed with murder because of his fantasies, again because he was angry. Very few if none movies or books that I have read or heard of has explored that. People expect bullied wictems to be shut down in the corder of the classroom and just be very very wimpy (Like I find Owen to be). Owen did stab a three, but not much more than that. Oh and having aknife and a weird "thomas" mas over his face. But other than that he was very wimpy. He even got scared of himself when he hit Kenny in the ear. While when oskar did, he felt relif.

I do like some things in this movie, but I dislikes moe,.. Still. But you do have some points regarding the focus on the side characters and that it can be a good think one does not have to read the book in order to understand the movie. As many have chlamied with LTROI, and I find that quite true actually. So yeah.. Some good ponts from you, I don't agree on all of them. But that's okay :)
Welcome to the forum! You seem like a smart person, will be interesting to see your future commentson here :) Cheers!
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Re: Did anyone else like LMI better as a film?

Post by JToede » Sun Jun 09, 2013 5:38 am

A lot of people don't like LMI because it ISa remake, and a American/Hollywood remake. I didn't care for some of the shots in LTROI, a couple were way too close and at times it lacked progression and had choppy transition from scene to scene.
But other than that he was very wimpy. He even got scared of himself when he hit Kenny in the ear. While when Oskar did, he felt relief.
It could be argued that Owen still had a moral compass, and Oskar had lost the ability to have sympathy and discern from right and wrong.
(In the book however, Oskar helped Conny and took him to the hospital)
I loved the ending in LTROI over the LMI, when it shows Eli's eyes looking at Oskar, while we don't see Abby looking back. ( I would preferred if they had panned out to see Eli's total expression)

But my biggest gripe with LTROI is OSKAR NEEDS TO WIPE HIS NOSE!!! watching it drives me up the wall!! I just want to grab a tissue wipe his nose and yell "Wipe that nose snot boy!"
AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR!!!!!! :x
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Re: Did anyone else like LMI better as a film?

Post by sauvin » Sun Jun 09, 2013 5:45 am

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Re: Did anyone else like LMI better as a film?

Post by jetboy » Sun Jun 09, 2013 8:52 am

JToede wrote:It could be argued that Owen still had a moral compass, and Oskar had lost the ability to have sympathy and discern from right and wrong.
And? Do you think Owen is the better character because of that? Maybe but it certainly isn't a good reason to tell a tale. Why tell a fictional story about keeping a moral compass when no one is actually keeping a moral compass, because its fiction. Its like Rocky winning his boxing match, no one really overcame anything. Theres no lesson, no moral, just gushy feelings inside.

LTROI is showing someone who IS falling through the cracks, who HAS a dirty little secret that's going to be his undoing. But he was born innocent like everyone but is TURNING bad, which is a darn good reason to write a story, and necessary. And I mean he's like this before meeting Eli.

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Re: Did anyone else like LMI better as a film?

Post by pantsonparade » Sun Jun 09, 2013 9:52 am

About the bullying scenes, in the book Johnny wasn't messed up because his older brother bullied him. In fact he looked up to his brother and wanted to be accepted by him which is why he became a bully. Johnny saw his brother in trouble with the law at times and was the leader of a gang, so he thought he could gain some reputation with his brother by having his own lackeys.

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Re: Did anyone else like LMI better as a film?

Post by BurgerPrince » Sun Jun 09, 2013 12:11 pm

pantsonparade wrote:About the bullying scenes, in the book Johnny wasn't messed up because his older brother bullied him. In fact he looked up to his brother and wanted to be accepted by him which is why he became a bully. Johnny saw his brother in trouble with the law at times and was the leader of a gang, so he thought he could gain some reputation with his brother by having his own lackeys.
I know about that, but one would not really get that if they had not read the book. And that's my point, when viewing a film, you should not have to read the book to understand the characters, the point of having a film is to be able to just watch and pay attention to understand. LMI succeeds in being able to develop the whole story on screen, whose characters and plot can be fully understood just by watching.
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Re: Did anyone else like LMI better as a film?

Post by EEA » Sun Jun 09, 2013 12:12 pm

Mostly I don't like LMI that much because some scenes resemble LTROI and its suppose to be based on the book. There were some good scenes but I think Reeves just didn't do enough with the movie.

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Re: Did anyone else like LMI better as a film?

Post by a_contemplative_life » Sun Jun 09, 2013 12:54 pm

LTROI is art.

LMI is a movie.
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