The Movie...Let the Right One In

SPOILERS GALORE….Only Continue Reading if You’ve Already Enjoyed the Film!! The movie’s great and if you’re a fan of foreign, horror, coming of age, or vampires, I suggest you check it out.

But what bothered me was the unstated, though very present, undercurrents of sexuality related to a 12-year-old vampire. There is a shot in the film that shows a close up of Eli’s frontal, unpantied body. NUDITY IN A 12-YEAR-OLD GIRL? REALLY? Is that ever appropriate, except if we’re catering to degenerates? Though I didn’t recognize it as such, one of my NFriends thought the shot shows a scar. Twice during the film, Eli says that she is not a girl and her comments might be referring to the fact that she’s dead. But is that true?

We know Eli is old, surely too old to have gone through any type of surgery while she was alive for a sex change or intersexual condition. But if it is indeed a scar, that’s where the package would have been. ALSO THERE’S THE ISSUE OF HER “FATHER,” who can’t possibly be, because he isn’t old enough. So, was he selected when he too was 11 years old? As a grown man, are we to assume that their relationship is platonic or paternal? If Oskar is the chosen “father” replacement, will she become his girlfriend as he grows older? Though her body is 12, this girl has been around for a while and I think there is another aspect to this story that is only hinted at.

Ok, the sexual parts of this speculation are icky, but as many people have already mentioned, this is a dark story and I’m interested in what the filmmakers were striving for…because I don’t believe a story of this nature (12-year-old-vicious-monster-when-she-needs-to-be) would not dare to tread on such slippery, possibly tabooed, slopes. Or maybe I’m the degenerate, seeing sexual situations where none exist. Even if it’s to tell me I’m full of crap, what do YOU think?

Tags: eli, in, let, one, oskar, right, the

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by heapshake on March 29, 2009 at 11:55am: I'm not sure, but I think in the book Eli is a boy & that is a scar and that her "father" is a teacher that got in trouble for getting too close to his students.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Donna Loves Movies on March 29, 2009 at 12:16pm: Now that IS interesting. Have you read the book?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by heapshake on March 29, 2009 at 4:52pm: No I haven't read the book. I looked at the IMDB FAQ after I watched the movie and I thought that is what it said. I was also disappointed after hearing all the hype, but maybe my expectations were too high. One of my problems with the movie was her "father's" bumbling around when it came to killing people. It seemed like he'd been with her for awhile and I'd think he'd be a little smarter. Also why not just have both of them go out, let her feed and then let him dispose of the bodies?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Johnny on March 29, 2009 at 8:33pm: Eli had been born a boy, but just before puberty had been castrated in an evil ceremony done by his family's landowner. And s/he became vampirized at that ceremony.
I personally think the movie would have been better off just leaving Eli as a girl, and ignoring the sex issue, just because it did not make sense to anyone who had not read the book, and there was plenty going on to carry the movie without that issue. I can understand trying to stay true to the book for those who had read it, but this was a case of trying to be too true to the book without time enough to really explain it.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Donna Loves Movies on March 31, 2009 at 10:20pm: Thank you for validating that I am not a sexual deviant for seeing those hints in the film! I was beginning to think I had made everything up in the dirty, back ally of my imagination!

I'm not crazy. Thank you, Johnny.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jill Davis on March 31, 2009 at 9:48pm: But it seems the portrayal of Eli in the Movies is different from that in the book in terms of sex. How I wonder what could have been if they kept the character of Eli as a girl.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by J Derek on March 29, 2009 at 1:19pm: After the much "hype" I heard about the movie, I found myself disappointed. Mostly because of the stuff left out that was apparently in the book. Eli's past should have been squeezed in there somewhere. These details were far too important. And then there's the issue with the differing subtitles.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Donna Loves Movies on March 29, 2009 at 5:05pm: I think I'll look this book up. Sounds as though it would clear up the things that were bothering me. I don't know, the movie wasn't what I was expecting, and showing the little girl naked just seemed so wrong, in fact, why they did so was what prompted this discussion. So how did you two rate this, J. Derek and Heapshake?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by heapshake on March 29, 2009 at 5:16pm: I gave it 3 stars.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by J Derek on March 30, 2009 at 3:50am: I gave it two stars. I might have given it a 2 1/2 if possible. There were many elements about the story I liked. But leaving out the past and having so many things out of context, like the nude scene and scar, bothered me. I felt it could have been great. Honestly, the way it was presented, it felt like a different movie posing as vampire movie.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by The Continental on March 29, 2009 at 6:08pm: Most stuff coming out today is over hyped , but this did not disappoint, so I liked it allot,, but what do i know I liked Planet Terror allot also...; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Donna Loves Movies on March 29, 2009 at 6:25pm: Ah, well, as a connoisseur of fine films, your opinion is, of course, greatly appreciated! : )

But seriously, it is danish, or swedish, or something so you must have somewhat broadened interests Did the naked little girl or the young girl/old guy thing work for you?; ▶ Reply to This