Let Me In

Recreating something that's amazing is not easy, and, unfortunately, that is what Hollywood tries all too often to do with amazing foreign films. Some piece of cinema from across the pond will find its way into the hearts and minds of a world audience, and Hollywood barges in and say's "Let's take this idea, stylize the heck out of it, put some gore and tits in it (if it's horror, or a lot more graphic nudity if its drama), slap a new name on it and call it our own". The only problem is, all too often, they completely miss the mark of what made the original so good. Matt Reeves, of Cloverfield fame, however, managed to push the Hollywood machine to be as close to in line with the original film Let The Right One In, as this American version, Let Me In, could be.

Let Me In is the story of a young boy, Owen, who is tortured in school and comes home to a loving mother who is, often times, rendered impotent as a parental figure due to the toll her divorce is taking on her. One evening, while playing in the courtyard of the apartment complex where they live, Owen spies an older man with a young girl moving into the apartment next to his. Eventually, they meet up in the very same courtyard. Her name is Abby. She's about his age, stand offish, and doesn't seem to be bothered that her feet are bear in the sub-freezing winter temperatures of Los Alamos, New Mexico. As time goes on, Owen and Abby begin to become friends, but a string of murders in the area are about to change both of their lives.

Let Me In is an admirable re-make. It gets some of the tone right, but it still doesn't reflect the quiet desperation that is evident in the Swedish town that the original is set in, nor does Kodi Smit-McPhee quite reach the malevolence of Kare Hedebrant in the same role. In a "no surprise there" move, Let Me In never covers the question of gender that the source material does, but if it did, Lena Leandersson definitely makes a better young child of slightly questionable gender than Chloe Moretz does. That being said, Smit-McPhee, Moretz, and Richard Jenkins as Abby's care taker, all deliver great performances in the film. The stylization tactics that Reeves uses (streak filters, very shallow depth of field, CG or overcranking for Abby's attacks and retreats, Abby's makeup effects), come off as being overkill, as the original brought the same world to life without all of those extras.

Another big problem I had was with renaming the film. Changing it to Let Me In takes all of the steam and meaning out of its original title. Let Me In could be the name of any horror or drama. Let The Right One In is so perfect because of its ties to Vampire lore. A vampire can not enter the domain of a human being without that human saying they may come in. If they do, bad things will happen to the vampire (read: death). So, "Let The Right One In" is not only important on the level of a human being having power over whether or not he/she will allow the vampire to enter the home, but it has another meaning as well with these two little children - Let the right one in, guard yourself around those who may try to do harm to you.

I'm not trying to bash Reeves. He did a great job, and, like I said, Let Me In is a very admirable remake of Let The Right One In, but ultimately, this is another case of Hollywood remaking a foreign film that doesn't need to be remade. If you haven't seen the original, I would highly recommend it. I would, actually, recommend seeing both, but if you only have time for one, definitely make it the Swedish version.

The Road

Cormac McCarthy is one of those novelist's that filmmakers read their books and ache to turn them into films. Why it has taken so long for this to happen, I have no idea. Many years ago, we got All The Pretty Horses, which I never got to see (but my ex-coworker and friend Steve Crawford was in, as a body double for Matt Damon). It seems to be relatively hard to find on DVD these days, so, who knows when I will get to see it. The next one came MANY years later, in the form of the Coen Brother's fantastic adaptation of No Country For Old Men. Now, with Blood Meridian SUPPOSEDLY on the horizon (though I wouldn't count on it), we've got another McCarthy adaptation in our laps, The Road, and I got a chance to see a sneak preview of it at the American Cinematheque in LA.

The film revolves around a father, played by Viggo Mortensen, and his son, played by Kodi Smit-McPhee, and their mission to make it south of where ever it is they are, down to "the coast". There really isn't any geography given in this film, so, its hard to tell exactly where they come from and where they're going, except for vague references. The Man (Mortensen) knows that, in this post apocalyptic world they are living in, where the trees, animals, and crops are all dead, he must protect his son at all costs from marauding gangs and cannibals. For all he knows, the two of them may be some of the very few surviving humans left, and they must keep the compassion of humanity alive at all costs, even when it means showing none.

Mortensen and Smit-McPhee are in, literally EVERY scene of this film, so, by the time its over, you feel like you've gotten to know their characters inside out. The film is undeniably bleak, with every hint of good that happens in these two's lives balanced by a heaping pile of horror. One scene, in the basement of a house, is especially horrifying (I won't spoil it for you). John Hillcoat, who directed the Neo-Western The Proposition, brings a masterful hand to the film and creates a world that cuts to the audiences very core. With the recent collapse of Wall Street, and mounting environmental problems, one is hard pressed to not leave the theater without wondering if, in five years or ten years or tomorrow, they could be one of the last humans alive, and walking down that same road.