Let the Right One In/Låt den Rätte Komma In (2008) - Chilling atmosphere and originality at play in Alfredson's child-centered horror

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+ Best Swedish Movie of the Year + Best Vampire Movie of the Year

A cry for help seems to be trapped in the ice on this chillingly created poster for Tomas Alfredson's Let the Right One In

A prepubescent boy is bullied consistently and is submitted to a life of fear in feminism-dominated Sweden. But then he discovers a friend in the girl Eli, who, however, has an unfortunate habit: She drains people of their blood.

Let the Right One In is written by John Ajvide Lindqvist (Border/Gräns (2018)), based on his same-titled 2004 novel, and directed by Tomas Alfredson (Bert: The Last Virgin/Bert - Den Siste Oskulden (1995)).
This rare Swedish vampire romance horror drama has a handsome, coolly observant photographic concept (cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema (Call Girl (2012))) and an original premise in its focus on the bullied boy. It is a good-looking and entertaining film, although I find it overrated.
The vampire element remains a gimmick that seems placed in this story without any real cause, furthermore, the film upon scrutiny really doesn't say anything. In periods it feels like a children's movie that's simply inappropriate for children to watch.
There is a cool public swimming pool scene at the end, and the mostly practical effects are very good. I don't buy into the slighting of male sexuality in Eli's first relationship, and I wonder if the 1970s setting is another gimmick in an already (to me) somewhat gimmicky film.
Let the Right One In is a damned cold but admirable piece of work.

Related post:

Tomas Alfredson: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) - Alfredson's heavily plotted, dreary spy hunt

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III] 

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 
2008 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 29 mil. SKK, approximately 4.5 mil. $
Box office: 11.2 mil. $
= Minor flop (returned 2.48 times the cost)
[Let the Right One In premiered 26 January (Göteborg International Film Festival, Sweden) and runs 114 minutes. Casting of the leads reportedly took a year. Shooting took place near Stockholm in Sweden. The film opened #47 to a 49k $ first weekend in 4 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #28 and in 53 theaters (different weeks), grossing 2.1 mil. $ (18.8 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 1.8 mil. $ (16.1 %) and Sweden with 1.6 mil. $ (14.3 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 3.5/4 star review, translating to two notches better than this review. The film was nominated for a BAFTA, 3 European Film awards, won 5/7 Guldbagge awards (Sweden's Oscar), a National Board of Review award and many other honors. Alfredson returned by shooting standup-show Sissela Kyle - Dina Dagar Är Räknade (2011, video) and theatrically with Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011). Kåre Hedebrant (Real Humans/Äkta Människor (2012-14)) returned in Cubid's Balls/Amors Baller (2011); Lina Leandersson (Broken Hill Blues/Ömheten (2013)) in The Arbiter (2013). Let the Right One In is certified fresh at 98 % with an 8.3/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Let the Right One In?

Hesher (2010) - Susser's immature, rebel-centered debut

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1 Film Excess nomination:

Best Child Actor: Devin Brochu (lost to Kiernan Shipka for Mad Men S4) 

The poster for Spencer Susser's Hesher emulates old heavy rock styles just as the film itself does

The boy TJ gets bullied crudely and is neglected at home by his grief-stricken father, when the crazy, stoned out individualist Hesher moves in with them, unannounced and uninvited.

Hesher is the feature debut for co-writer/director Spencer Susser (Lana Del Rey: Summertime Sadness (2012, music video)), a very strange, downbeat and violence-preoccupied dramedy. Its main quality might be the impressive cast, Susser has managed to gather in it: Piper Laurie (The Crossing Guard (1995)), Natalie Portman (Black Swan (2010)) who also co-produced it, Rainn Wilson (The Stream (2013)) and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Premium Rush (2012)) as the dubious title hero. The boy actor Devin Brochu (Rubber (2010)) stands out in the bunch; he is very good and cinematic in Hesher.
Under scrutiny, the film appears incredibly immature and unreal. It is a slight affair that may attract some young audiences. Susser co-wrote it with David Michôd (Animal Kingdom (2010)), based on a story by Brian Charles Frank (Wolfpack of Reseda (2012), TV-series).

Related posts:

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Here's a trailer for the film

Cost: 7 mil. $
Box office: 0.449 mil. $
= Box office disaster
[Hesher premiered January 22 (Sundance) and runs 105 minutes. It was filmed May - June 2009 in California. It opened #36 in 42 theaters to a small 126k $ first weekend, its widest weekend in North America, where it grossed 382k $. It made 66k $ in Italy but other international grosses are not made public. The catastrophic performance of the film probably accounts for Susser's not having made a film to follow it up yet. Hesher is rotten at 54 % with a 5.7 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Hesher?

In a Better World/Hævnen (2010) - Bier's Big Moral Drama lives on its actors' performances

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1 Film Excess nomination:

Best Child Actor: William Jønkh Nielsen, Markus Rygaard (lost to Kiernan Shipka for Mad Men S4)

One of the very dramatic posters for Susanne Bier's In a Better World

The story starts in Southern Funen, Denmark, where a boy gets bullied as 'the rat', until he gets a new friend, who knows how to fight back. In a refugee camp in Africa, the victimized boy's father works as a doctor.

In a Better World is full of moral dilemmas and is an ideal conversations starter, which certainly inspired disagreements among the people I saw it with. All the actors are outstanding, and they are the film's main quality: Trine Dyrholm (Daisy Diamond (2007)), Mikael Persbrandt (One Way (2006)) and Ulrich Thomsen (Banshee (2013-16)), but also the film's two main boy actors, William Jønkh Nielsen (Danny's Doomsday/Dannys Dommedag (2014)) and Markus Rygaard (The Great Bear/Den Kæmpestore Bjørn (2011)).
Unfortunately the script, by Anders Thomas Jensen (The Salvation (2014)) and Danish master co-writer-director Susanne Bier (Brothers/Brødre (2004)), carries the subtext out in its dialog a bit too candidly. The shakiness of the camera, (cinematographer Morten Søborg (Valhalla Rising (2009)), is unnecessary, SPOILER and I also find the ending too neat.
Still, In a Better World is a pretty good film.

Related posts:

Susanne Bier: 2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2012 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2012 in films - according to Film Excess
Love Is All You Need/Den Skaldede Frisør (2012) - Bier strikes gold with Italy-set romcom
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
Brothers/Brødre (2004) or, A Woman Came Between Them

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Approximately 5.5 mil. $ (30 mil. DKK)
Box office: 9.6 mil. $
= Big flop
[In a Better World was released August 26 and runs 118 minutes. Filming took place in and around August 2009 in Funen, Langeland and Kenya. Bier has stated about the film: "Our experiment in this film is about looking at how little it really takes before a child – or an adult – thinks something is deeply unjust. It really doesn't take much, and I find that profoundly interesting. And scary." The film opened #53 to a 33k $ first weekend in 4 theaters, peaking in 51 in North America, where it grossed 1 mil. $ (10.4 % of the total gross). The films 3 biggest markets were its native Denmark, where an impressive 448k paid admission to it, with 4.9 mil. $ (51 %), Sweden with 2.2 mil. $ (22.9 %) and Spain with 1.3 mil. $ (13.5 %). The film won the Best Foreign Film Oscar, beating Incendies, Biutiful, Dogtooth and Outside the Law, and the foreign film Golden Globe as well as the Danish Bodil Best Actress award to Dyrholm. In a Better World is certified fresh at 77 % with a 7.1 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of In a Better World?