Let the Right One In

As a class we watched the film, Let the Right One In, the director is called Tomas Alfredson, he is
Swedish along with the film and actors, so when we watched the film we had to read the English
subtitles. This meant we couldn't fully understand the tone of voice the dialogue was being said in, but it
was clear enough to analyse the roles of the characters.

Characters: Oskar, Eli, Oskar's mother, Eli's 'father', neighbours

- Oskar is a clumsy 12 year old, he comes across very disturbed as talks to himself and to a tree
at some points in the film. He's a stereotypical Swedish-looking child: pale with white blonde
hair. He reads a lot about murders and crimes and appears to carry a knife with him throughout
the film, this could be because he's bullied at school by three boys in his class and they
nickname him 'Piggy'. Oskar lives in a block of apartments with his mother.
- Eli, an unusual 12 year old, she moves into Oskar's building and ends up living in the
apartment next to him. For some reason Eli doesn't feel the cold, and Oskar complains that
she 'smells'. Later on in the film we discover that she and her 'father figure' murder people and
drain their blood. She lives with her 'father' and they're very discrete and private about their
lives. She seems clever as she can complete a Rubik's cube. It turns out that they drain
people’s blood as that's what Eli lives off, she is a vampire.
- Oskar's mother is very protective over Oskar as there have been reports of murders near to
their town, she doesn't like to let him out of the house at night - maybe this is why he carries a
knife? She is a typical housewife and the audience always see her in the apartment, never
outside. She doesn't have a main role in the film so the audience doesn't see her very often.
- Eli's 'father' is a quiet and contained character; he doesn't like to speak to people and doesn't
want people to know he lives with Eli. His role in the film is mainly that he kills people then
drains their blood for Eli to drink, this shows that he wants to care for Eli and tries his best to
keeps her alive.
- The neighbours throughout the film are gossiping about the latest events and murders around
the town so they become extremely suspicious as the film goes on. One of the neighbours sees
Eli attack another neighbour which causes him to tell his friends and he seems shaken up by
his sighting.

The general setting of the film is Sweden in the winter so there is snow everywhere and the contrasts
from night to day are very distinctive as in the daytime the location is bright and light because of the
whiteness of the snow and sky. The music used at various places in the film is generally string music;
this is used during transitions or emotional moments during the film. At the very beginning of the film
the words 'squeal like a pig' are repeated, this is then shown later on as the bullies at Oskar's school
call him 'piggy' as a nickname. Most of the colours in the mise en scene of the film are neutral; this is
common in horror films as it creates a dull atmosphere for key moments of the film. The film is set in the
1980s by the appearance of the characters, wearing winter clothing from a few decades back, also the
hairstyles and buildings/locations show that it was set slightly in the past. 

There are examples of binary opposites in the film:

- Rich and poor: Oskar's apartment looks like a normal living area, full of furniture and personal
belongings, looks like a home; Eli's apartment is bare, there is nothing in it, a simply fitted
kitchen and bathroom but no other furniture. 
- Old and young: Oskar is a 12 year old child; Eli is 12 but has been 12 for a very long time, as
vampires do not progress in age.
- Good and evil: Oskar is an innocent boy, no matter how disturbed he may seem; Eli commits
many murders throughout the film. 
The lighting used in the film is artificial but also mixed with natural lighting as a large majority of the film
takes place outside and at night time. The sound effects used are extremely exaggerated, for example
the footsteps crunching in the snow have been edited along with the sound of brushing their teeth,
tapping on the wall, biting into someone’s neck and slitting the throat of someone.
The make-up artists were incredible when making Eli's vampire features look graphic, there is a
particular scene in which Oskar doesn't invite Eli into his house and blood starts pouring from her eyes,
ears, nose, back, neck and head (this is what happens if she breaks someone else's house) and the
special effects look very realistic. Eli's hair is never done up properly and she's always wearing ragged
clothes, this also adds to the fact it was set in the 1980's and that she has no money or parents to
afford nice clothes for her.

The camerawork by the cinematographer in the film includes frequent close-ups and a few long-shots
that are at very significant scenes. For example, the close-ups make the film more tense when a main
event is about to happen or just after it's happened; the best long-shot scene is when Eli makes her first
attack on one of the neighbours at night, the cinematographer chose to do this as it makes the
audience want to see more but they are unable to do so.

Referring back to Tzvetan Todorov's theory of the equilibrium, the particular layout in this film is as
follows; 
Equilibrium: Oskar, lives happily with his mother in a small town in Sweden, visits his father from time to
time.
Disruption: Murders start taking place in nearby towns and cities, Eli moves in next door to Oskar's
apartment
Restoration: Eli saves Oskars life at the end of the film.

Jess Pardoe