FWIW, my wife & I interpreted it exactly the same way that you did, and learning the author’s original intent is rather disappointing.
hmm, I’d thought he was her brother, father being too obvious, at first. But then he was rather inept for a long term companion so I left the theater perplexed and looked it up right away.
That’s not really the vibe I got from the book; it’s more like Hakan’s unacceptable interest in Eli (which, like almost everything else in the book, is very quiet and sad) pulls them together and makes it safe for Eli to “come out” to him about her own even more unacceptable needs. Pedophilia, and the vulnerability of children, is a major subtheme of the book (not so much of the movie, as far as I can tell; haven’t seen it yet).
As to why Hakan doesn’t force the point: aside from Eli being able to tear him to pieces, he’s pretty passive and timid; he repeatedly fails to act on his interest in young boys even when he has ample opportunity, so he’s not much of a threat (while alive).
Random (spoilery) thought about the book:
For the first half or two-thirds of the book, Eli is “she”, although a few subtle hints are dropped early on. Then, apropos of nothing much, his description suddenly changes to “he”; this creates a disorienting effect that goes well with the mood of the passage (the actual explanation comes quite a bit later). I wonder how this sort of setup would work in a language that doesn’t distinguish gender in the third person…
Bumping this zombie thread, hope it’s ok. A new thread should be started when the movie is actually ready to come out. The movie will be released October 1.
I still don’t think they need a remake, but I’m resigned to it and I think, hope, it will turn out alright. I like everyone involved, and it is based on the book. The OP aside, I don’t want to be knee-jerk against something just because I LOVE the original movie so much. It’s a book, it’s a book, it’s a book, the movie’s based on the book, the book, the book. Ok, “inspired by.” Inspired by, inspired by, inspired by. The book, not the movie, the book, not the movie. The original movie is still there and untouched, the original movie is still there and untouched, the original movie is still there and untouched (except for the fucked-up subtitles on the DVD).
If I repeat it all often enough…
I was wrong in some of my predictions.
They didn’t change the spelling of his name, they changed his name altogether. He’s now Owen, and will be played by Kodi Smit-McPhee, the kid from The Road, which makes me happy. He’ll do well, and he’s not a hot young stud.
Eli is now Abby, and will be played by Chloe Moretz. She’s in a film that I’m REALLY looking forward to, Kick-Ass. (here’s a red-band trailer for the movie, NSFW due to language and a little girl, played by Chloe, blowing people away and swearing up a storm. Wow, that’s going to galvanize Focus On The Family, can’t wait to see it!)
I don’t know what “Abby” means wrt Eli’s history. I can’t think of a name Abby would be short for. I might be right that that plot point went out the window. We’ll see.
Richard Jenkins (The Visitor) is listed at IMDB as playing “The Father” so I don’t know if they’re trying to preserve a surprise or what. I like Richard Jenkins though, so him being in it is another good sign.
Here’s a page with that and more information, including a synopsis.
If this thread is TOO much of a zombie and is closed, I’ll understand.
It was and wasn’t very Swedish. The locations and a lot of the details, like the children’s rhymes, the clothes and the school activities, are something that will be very familiar to the generation that was growing up in Sweden in the 1970’s. I think it is certainly a case where the environment and setting can be seen as a character in itself. It can be translated, but it would need to be something inspired, to match the bleakness of the Stockholm suburbs mid-winter, where cold is really cold and you only get sunlight a few hours a day.*
- I can picture something like the small community in Lars and the Real Girl, set in winter time.
READ THIS IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE MOVIE YET
Please don’t watch the dubbed version. It’s absolutely terrible. The voice acting is horrendous and wooden. It’s much better to read the subtitles and still get the energy from the performances.
Is that “The Father” of Oskar(“Owen”) or Eli(“Abby”)?
Based on Richard Jenkins’ age, I would assume Abby.
And make sure that you get a DVD with the theatrical subtitles - the first DVD release redid them very badly. I think all current DVDs have the theatrical ones, but worth checking.
re dubbing: The actress who played Eli had her voice overdubbed by another in order to make the character sound older. To clarify,this was in the original Swedish release.
I checked, it’s on Netflix as Instant Watch now. Thanks, Baron Greenback. I’ll be sure to send for the disc if the Instant Watch is the dubbed version.
It’s not - subtitled with the good original theatrical subtitles.
Don’t watch it unless it has the original theatrical subtitles. And don’t even think about watching the English-dubbed version.
I don’t have a problem with remakes. Often they suck, but just as often they are comparably good in a different way, or very good. I thought the American version of Ringu (The Ring) was very good. Remakes are especially welcome for older films. Even if they suck, it’s not like the original is destroyed in the process, and will often get renewed attention from the remake.
I loved Let the Right One In (correct subtitles version) but look forward to the remake.
Sigh…me too. I shouldn’t have clicked on it, of course, but people use spoilers for jokes and non-spoilage material, and I didn’t think twice before clicking.
Bad mouse!
As others have said, it’s something that might even miss while watching the movie so it’s not like it will really spoil your enjoyment of the movie. When I saw that shot, I didn’t even know what I saw until I read it online later.
Since my last comment, I have seen LTROI, thought it was FREAKIN’ AWESOME, and knowing the Spoilery-thing beforehand did not ruin it for me. In fact, it helped me pay attention when the revelation was made. This is not to endorse Self-Spoilering but to say that the movie is so good, knowing the secret will not ruin it for you.
Also, I saw it on Netflix Instant View- fear not, it is the good captioned version!
Damn, that was a good movie!
Btw, I have no idea how they’ll handle the Spoiler scene in the remake. But one thing that inspires some confidence- this will be released by a name in Vintage Horror films… Ladies and Gentlemen, HAMMER STUDIOS is back in town!
For those interested, the Onion AV Club has a lengthy “book vs. film” comparison for this here. It’d be interesting if the American adaptation goes closer to the source material (unlikely, I know).
I interpreted it the same way as you and, frankly, I think it makes for a better story. Somewhat more twisted at least.
For some reason I think reading the subtitles made the movie more enjoyable for me than if it had been in English.
I read that they considered casting a boy to play both lead rolls in the new remake. They chose not to do this, thankfully.
Jesus, the first time I read that I saw it as considered castrating a boy.