Let the Right One In

The film “Let the Right One In” is a Swedish horror film, based about the relationship between a 12 year old boy, Oskar, and a young looking girl, Eli, who happens to be a centuries old vampire. 

You can apply some elements of the film to Todorov’s, Propp’s and Levi-Stauss views. Prop’s views were that all characters have a role. In “Let the Right One In” there are many roles played. Oskar in a way plays the role of the hero as he gains confidence in the film and learns a lot of lessons throughout. The role of the villain is represented in a character called Conny who Oskar eventually gets full revenge on. This with the help of Eli, who plays an unconventional princess role in the film, as she has a very dark side, the fact that she is a vampire, but could also be classed as a donor, as she helps Oskar throughout the film. One of Oskar’s supposed friends could be classed as a false hero as they call him to invite him to a club, but then have him trapped, probably to murder him.

Todorov’s views were that all stories begin with an equilibrium. This is then disrupted and in the end restored. The equilibrium at the start of the film is that the Oskar is just a quiet school boy, who gets bullied. The euqilibrium is then disrupted as the relationship between him and Eli starts to grow, and he starts to gain confidence and reacts by whipping Conny in the face. The equilibrium is then restored to an extent, as we know that he gets bullied again, but as the bullies are killed at the very end of the film, we don’t know what happens to him, so cannot really say.

Levi-Strauss said that narrative structures contain binary opposites. In “Let the Right One In” there are many binary opposites, the main of these being good vs evil. This is seen in both Oskar and Eli’s personality. In Oskar’s personality you see him being a good person, having fun with his Dad and lending Eli his rubicks cube. We also see him being evil, with thoughts of stabbing and him whipping Connie. We see a similar personality in Eli as we see sides of her being caring and playful, but then we see her vampire side, as she kills helpless people. Other noticeable binary opposite is that of human vs vampire. This is seen in Eli as she can be a normal 12 year old, but then sometimes a viscous immortal creature who eats humans. Then there is the binary opposite between Eli and Oskar, boy vs girl. We see differences in behavior and the way they deal with situations.

The mise en scene is very basic in “Let the Right One In”. There is not much happening in the background of the scene, and it stays the same throughout, mainly night-time with snow and a block of flats. The mise en scene hints to the viewer that the film was meant to during the 70’s. This is represented through the decor and furnishings in the housing and cafes. The clothing is also not from recent years which again relates back to the 70’s.

The sound used is very basic, and adds to a very eerie feel throughout the film. Not only does it build tension for the viewers, but adds to the clean and crispness of the setting. It really emphasizes the wintery feel to the film. The camera work in the film is also very interesting, as it allows the viewer to feel involved. It is filmed from the height of the characters, so you feel like you are involved in the conversation and when there is the shot in the school, the viewer feels like they are part of the class.

Overall I think that the film is quiet clever, as it follows the views of Todorov, Propp and Levi-Strauss, but not in a traditional way. The director has taken classic characters but put a twist on them, which makes the film stand out from others.