A wish...

[varamiglite]

I'm watching LTROI right now and I just got to thinking I really wish they would have found some way to include the "cancer lady" scene in the movie. It's really not a necessary scene but I just thought it would be hilarious to see Eli laughing wildly watching Dallas due to tripping on morphine! Seeing the bad man in the TV would also be crazy and would show just a little bit more about Eli's torment. I thought it was a cool scene in the book and I hate that it didn't make either of the movies

[TigerEyes]

i feel the same way about that too. i would have loved to see the cancer lady bit there too.

[a_contemplative_life]

Yeah...the vampire lord with J.R.'s hat. Only JAL could have dreamed that up.

It's interesting to ponder how the idea that the cancer woman was on morphine could have been conveyed. I think in the novel, the only clue was the taste of her blood, something that could not have been easily demonstrated on film.

And if the vision of the line of children walking in the snow, and of the lord with his mouth-lined cloak, had been thrown in--how would that have changed the tone of the film? Could it have been done without also showing something of Eli's turning?

What about the poor woman wandering in her yard, "alive" but yet, a burning torch? Frightful. How would it have impacted the Mind's Eye about who Eli is?

[varamiglite]

Yeah...the vampire lord with J.R.'s hat. Only JAL could have dreamed that up.

It's interesting to ponder how the idea that the cancer woman was on morphine could have been conveyed. I think in the novel, the only clue was the taste of her blood, something that could not have been easily demonstrated on film.

And if the vision of the line of children walking in the snow, and of the lord with his mouth-lined cloak, had been thrown in--how would that have changed the tone of the film? Could it have been done without also showing something of Eli's turning?

What about the poor woman wandering in her yard, "alive" but yet, a burning torch? Frightful. How would it have impacted the Mind's Eye about who Eli is?

That's what I figured that it would change the tone of the movie too much and probably be hard to make fit. As much as I'd love to have seen that part in the movie, I know it just would not have worked out. The movie would have definitely been darker because of that scene, unless they gutted it to make it pretty, which would have defeated the purpose. The idea of the morphine could probably have only been conveyed as a thought the audience can hear. Eli could have thought "oh my god this woman is drugged," but that would have come off cheesy and overly forced. I don't think the scene could've worked without giving away a little about Eli's turning.

A lot of very good points ACL! I understand a little more as to why it didn't make the cut...

[a_contemplative_life]

I forgot--now I recall that Eli smelled the morphine on the woman. Would still be hard to convey. One thought might be to have a bottle of the medicine on a table, or maybe even have her getting it IV from a bag on an IV pole. I guess a bottle would be better. Right next to that stinky cheese she had sitting out.

[PeteMork]

I’ve always liked this scene because it showed both sides of Eli at the same time. It showed her vulnerabilities and the horror of her past, as well as her offhanded, practical cold-bloodedness, the result of years of having to kill to eat. I’m entirely confident that this cold-blooded aspect of her character could have been conveyed easily by Lina (something I think would have added even more depth to Eli’s character);

Her eyes were damp and re-mote as she met Eli's gaze and said, "please . .. please . . ." Eli held back her impulse to be sick, leaned forward over the woman.

"Excuse me?"

"Please..."

"Yes, what is it you want?"

"... please ... please."

After a while the woman's eyes changed, stiffened. Became unseeing. Eli closed them. They opened again. Eli took the blanket from the floor and covered her face with it, sat up straight in the couch.

and balanced out nicely by her gently-told tale of her innocent childhood.

"Once upon a time ... a long, long time ago, there was a poor farmer and his wife. They had three children. A boy and a girl both old enough to work together with the adults. And then a little boy, only eleven years old. Everyone who saw him said he was the most beautiful child they had ever seen.

"The father was in villeinage to the lord who owned the land, and had to work many days for him. Therefore, it often fell to the mother and her two oldest to look after the house and garden. The youngest boy wasn't good for much.

This scene, plus the buying blood from Tommy scene, (for the same reasons) were key to explaining important aspects of Eli’s character; IMO, critical components of her character. These were hinted at in the film, but were driven home to me strongly in these scenes.

[Ash]

Those scenes would have been nice to see.
The thing I miss most from the novel would have been even harder to pull off, it was the humour running in tandem with the horror, I love JAL's sense of humour and irony.
Most of it came from Hakan's internal dialogue which, without some sort of narration, can't be portrayed.
The novel had me laughing at many points, but the film was pretty dour and gloomy from start to finish.

[Jeannedeorleans]

The cancer lady was mentioned, wasn't she? The cover up arson that police mentioned in Oskar's class was her.

[varamiglite]

The cancer lady was mentioned, wasn't she? The cover up arson that police mentioned in Oskar's class was her.

It may have been a small reference in that direction but we want more than that! The whole scene was cool not just the mention of it!

[Jeannedeorleans]

In my opinion, the cancer lady would add nothing to the story. If anything, I wish it had the deleted slap scene and castration scene. The cutting of Eli's Room and Be Me Little scenes made gaps in story's continuity.