THE COURIER Monday Novermber 8 2010
27
Film Culture
film
Film Editor: Adam Williams - courier.culture-film@ncl.ac.uk
film of the week
Let Me In Director: Matt Reeves &DVW .RGL 6PLW 0F3KHH &KORH 0RUHW] 5LFKDUG -HQNLQV 5XQWLPH PLQV
In the age of Twilight, True Blood and Vampire Diaries LW¡V KDUG WR À QG D vampire story with an element of romance which isn’t entirely based DURXQG OXVW Let Me In, Matt Reeves’ UHPDNH RI 7RPDV $OIUHGVRQ¡V DG DSWDWLRQ RI -RKQ $MYLGH/LQGTYLVW¡V 6ZHGLVK QRYHO Let The Right One In, LV DQ\WKLQJ EXW OXVWIXO ,W IRFXVHV RQ WKH LQQRFHQW DQG WR VRPH H[ tent, more intense romance between 2ZHQ D \HDU ROG ER\ ZKR OLYHV D EURNHQ OLIH DQG WKH XQGHDG $EE\ ZKR PRYHV LQ QH[W GRRU WR 2ZHQ Whereas Twilight was all about the VH[XDO DWWUDFWLRQ RU ODFN WKHUHRI GXH to wooden performances, Let Me In is focused on the loneliness of the WZR FKDUDFWHUV 2ZHQ LV ZHDN DQG living in a shattered family and so LV DQ REYLRXV WDUJHW IRU EXOOLHV +LV isolation within his school leads him to follow a life of eating sweets, ZDWFKLQJ SHRSOH WKURXJK KLV WHO escope and acting out Taxi Driver HVTXH PLUURU IDQWDVLHV $EE\ RQ
the other hand, is a vampire so isn’t H[DFWO\ XVHG WR KDYLQJ IULHQGV %XW their mutual isolation leads them to IRUP DQ XQOLNHO\ ERQG 7KH À OP à LFNV RIWHQ EHWZHHQ tender moments between the WZR VWDUV .RGL 6PLW 0F3KHH DQG &KORH 0RUHW] DQG JUXHVRPH PXU GHUV FRPPLWWHG E\ $EE\¡V œIDWKHU¡ (played fantastically by Richard -HQNLQV LQ RUGHU WR VDWLDWH KHU QHHG IRU EORRG :KHQHYHU KH PHVVHV XS $EE\ KHUVHOI PXVW KXQW GRZQ KHU prey, allowing Reeves to pull out LQWHQVHO\ JRU\ DQG IULJKWHQLQJ DW WDFNV RQ SRRU YLFWLPV :KDW WKH À OP GRHV EHVW KRZHYHU is that it is more interested in the relationship between Owen and $EE\ WKDQ LW LV ZLWK WKH VFDUHV WKDW \RX ZRXOG H[SHFW ,W¡V VR HDV\ IRU a director to get carried away with just pulling out all the gory stops to IULJKWHQ WKH DXGLHQFH %XW 5HHYHV¡ SUHYLRXV À OP &ORYHUÀ HOG GLG H[ DFWO\ WKDW IRFXVLQJ RQ WKH FKDUDF ters more than the scares, but was overshadowed by what some would WKH JLPPLFNLQHVV RI œIRXQG FDPHUD IRRWDJH¡ EURXJKW DERXW E\ WKH OLNHV of Blair Witch Project 7KDQNV WR 5HHYHV DQG KLV FLQHPD WRJUDSKHU *UHJ )UDVHU WKH À OP VL PXOWDQHRXVO\ WDNHV RQ D ZDUP IHHO due to the glow of lights against the
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Chris Taylor
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