Let The Right One In Essay!

Let The Right One In (2008) is a Swedish horror film and was directed by Tomas Alfredson. The film is about the relationship between Oskar, a 12 year old boy who is a loner and is bullied at school, and Eli, a strange young girl who moves in next door to Oskar. The two have many encounters and soon Oskar realises that Eli isn't a normal girl.

We are first introduced to the character of Oskar as he stares out of his window as Eli arrives. From this activity we can instantly tell he is not a regular 12 year old. He then produces a knife and starts to practice jabbing around whilst saying the words 'squeal like a pig', which is our first introduction to his malicious, violent side. We then see that Oskar isolates himself at school with his knowledge of things such as murders and is always bullied by a boy called Conny and his friends. As well as a large knowledge of murder facts we also find out that he collects articles from murder reports which could be considered very suspicious as though he was plotting himself, which he is. The first time he meets Eli he is once again practicing stabbing someone but this time taking it out on a near by tree. These practices are obviously what Oskar wishes he could do to stand up for himself against the bullies. On his second meeting with Eli Oskar is tries to connect with her by offering her his Rubik Cube, which shows that he is a kind boy and not just filled with violence, however he is very blunt to her as he just says 'You smell funny'. In another scene in the school we see that he hides in a toilet. This shows us that his interest in violence doesn't matter as he is just a vulnerable young boy.

When meeting Eli we quickly learn that she cannot feel the cold. So when she wears a coat in one of the first scenes we know that it is just a show to pretend to seem like a regular little girl. This shows that she has an attention to detail and does everything she can to not be found out. When Eli first kills the man in the underpass we think that she is horrible and generally blood thirsty, however when she cries after the act we realise that she hates killing people and feels horrible afterwards. Another example of her compassion is when she visits Håkan in hospital after he was caught. With his face severely deformed she takes pity on him and kills him. After resisting at first Eli then connects with Oskar and end up spending a lot of time together. This connection with Oskar shows that, like him, Eli is also very lonely. 

The film is set in a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden in the depth of winter. As it is winter it is very cold and the ground is always cover in thick snow and ice. At the beginning of the film the I think that the hard weather reflects the children as they are both miserable, through out the film though as their relationship builds the weather improves until the sun shines all day. Another set in the film is the apartment block. From the decor of their homes we can tell that the film is not set in the modern day. In Eli's empty apartment there little things to give away the time period, but the old magazines she uses to cover the windows look to be of the time period of the 70s or early 80s. The décor is also very simple to keep attention on the characters

Another tell that the film is not set in the present day is the clothes the character's are wearing. A definite example of this is when the school children go ice skating their female teacher is wearing a pastel all in one and a large fur hat. Oskar and Eli always wear very plain clothing. Oskar is usually wearing shades of brown and Eli is often in pink or white, which is completely against their characters as Oskar is not the boring person you would think he was and in no way is Eli sweet and innocent. Some of her clothes however do reflect her personality more though for example when she first meets Oskar she comes out in a white shirt and black jeans. The black jeans signify her horrible dark side whilst the white shirt reflects the innocent child in her who hates killing and regrets it.

Through out the film there are many long shots used. An example of one is after Oskar gets home from school and he is stood in the snow looking up at Eli's apartment. This shot helps to create the idea of bleakness in Oskar's life as all that surrounds him is plain snow and a mundane high rise apartment block. A long shot is also used when as Håkan runs away after killing his first victim. This type of shot is used here to help convey the horror of the event. Another time a long shot is used is when Eli is sat in the dark underpass calling out for help.
  
The film starts with Eli arriving with her carer Håkan. The music over this scene is eerie and dramatic. Which helps to reflect the dramatic consequences of Eli's presence in the town. This music then reapers as a theme through out the film.