a tale of two vampires

Twilight (2008)
directed by Catherine Hardwicke
**3/4

Let the Right One In (2008)
directed by Tomas Alfredson
****

Vampires have long been a tantalizing topic for film, and it's no wonder why. The vampire's kiss is at once romance and victimization, death and eternal life, self-love and community. The entire genre is a perversion of the Lord's Supper, a creepy dissonance that has the power to tinge every celebration that involves drinking his blood and eating his flesh. In 2008, filmgoers were bitten by two new reels of undead celluloid. One was the real thing. The other wore plastic fangs.

vampirism as adolescent insight
Twilight and the book series that followed it picked up where Harry Potter left off, in more than one sense. Now I admit that I'm operating at quite a disadvantage in my statements, not having read any book from either series. Given that serious qualification, I still persist in my belief that the series share a modus operandi: the supernatural within them is mainly valuable in shedding light on who children already are.

The wizardry, games and spells, the blood lust, cultishness and pursuit simply interpret on a more exaggerated scale the passions and tensions that drive young people. The snarky competition in Harry Potter is no different than what you'd normally see among children and their reactions to adults — those books (and films) simply magnify reality to a superhuman level.

Similarly with Twilight and its series, where the awkward feeling of outcast is a simple mirror of adolescent angst: these are Harry and his friends in high school, that's all. The vampirism and all its horrors really adds nothing to the story of high school experience: it simply allows a typical teen story to be broadcast on a larger stage. Struggles with hormonal imbalances are simply reinterpreted as grandiose, supernatural spectacles.

I went into Twilight with an open mind, despite my earlier decision not to read the books. I had enjoyed Kristen Stewart in Sean Penn's wonderful film Into the Wild, and continue to believe that Robert Pattinson may have some moves in him beyond the stiff-as-a-board Edward. I had never seen a Catherine Hardwicke film, though I remember hearing positive buzz about her film Thirteen. Now that I think about it, this is a woman who has made only films about adolescents (The Nativity Story being her other).

The problems with Twilight are two:
1) It is so Romantic that it assumes the larger-than-life is simply a method of exploring or working through myself.
2) It forgets that great adolescent literature needs to be written from the perspective of someone who is not still stuck in adolescence. Think: To Kill a Mockingbird, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Because of Winn-Dixie. We need a faithful story, yet one that helps us work through our adolescence.

vampirism as ageless myth
The central characters in the Swedish masterpiece Let the Right One In are even younger than those in Twilight — both are 12, 'more or less' (as a line of dialogue unfolds). So we should expect an even more simplistic film, right? Wrong.

Where the American film wears its heart on its sleeve, a sort of vampire-as-fashion-statement, this Scandinavian film realizes how serious a thing like the undead could be. Where Twilight attempts realism only in Bella's reaction to discovering Edward's identity, Let the Right One In feels authentic from beginning to end. Which doesn't mean it's only dark and gloomy - it actually has a pretty wicked sense of levity, and extraordinary balance in presenting what amounts to a riveting story.

Vampirism is a devastating lifestyle that young Oskar comes face to face with in the person of Eli, a new neighborhood girl. The film hasn't tried to normalize blood-sucking into an alternative, air-brushed, Calvin Klein-clad lifestyle by turning its vampires into deer hunters. Eli needs human blood, and she's lured the man who seems to be her father into serving as her accomplice as well. It's a powerful study of the Fall's iron shackles and insatiability.

Oskar's struggling with his own youth (in much more masterful scenes, I might add) well before Eli shows up. His own life isn't suddenly given significance and inside-chic because of his link to a vampire: it's complicated, spun out of control, forcing him both to grow up into an adult overnight and to wrestle with the desires of his own heart to be seen and respected. It doesn't hurt that Alfredson has given his film a powerful aesthetic sense (it's difficult to use that word in reference to the limp Twilight and keep a straight face): stark, iconic, ageless images and scenes pass before our eyes, by turns lulling and startling us through its narrative.

One of these films exploits the vampire genre in an attempt to give teens a way to explain their own hormones to themselves. The other dives into the genre to find and declare its essential greatness as a genre, its cold and yet still-beating heart, the one that is also ours, all of ours.

Note: Just because Let the Right One In is an objectively better film than Twilight does not mean that either one is recommended without reservations. Both films contain images and scenes that may be disturbing to those who struggle with dark thoughts, violence or the occult. Choose wisely.

Comments

[Danny]

In all honesty, the Twilight movie completely pales in comparison with Let the Right One In. It is a violent, brutal, and emotionally powerful film that stays with you long after the credits roll.

The performances by the two child actors are stunning and the cinematography is absolutely beautiful. One of the best films of '08 and one of the best vampire movies ever.

[Katherine]

Yes, sadly, I felt like the director hadn't even read the books. They are very different--night and day different! And, not just for leaving out a scene or two.

And, I should have said: "He also chooses not to "have" her either sexually or to turn her. This wasn't really communicated in the MOVIE."

By the way, I agree with your rating for Twilight! :)

I am intrigued by the other one, and will have to investigate it.

[will]

Thanks, Katherine! I had heard fans of the book didn't all like the movie, but I hadn't heard it was because they were really different. I assumed it was the normal "adaptation" complaints.

So, yes, this is just a comparison of the two films then! :-)

[Katherine]

Will-
Thanks for reviewing these in conjunction. This was interesting. But, I have to seriously disagree with your assessment of the Twilight books. As someone who has read them through (several times) I would be the first to say they are not classics; they are, however, good stories, and are written well for the sub-genre. But, you must NOT judge the books by the movie. I (and many other Twilight book fans) had serious problems with the movie. First and foremost, the movie minimizes the relationship between Bella and Edward as mere infatuation. One of the reasons this happens is because of the lack of time shown. A viewer might think this "relationship" occurred over a few days, not an entire year. Also, the back story to Edward's chaste, but lonely life is not given in the movie. Edward had been waiting for over 100 years, and could have had other girls, but he chooses not to. He also chooses not to "have" her either sexually or to turn her. This wasn't really communicated in the books. I am familiar with young adult literature (at least with what is published) and frankly Twilight is refreshing in that it communicates restraint, modesty, and a depth of feeling that many for that age bracket do not. I think these are the reasons why so many adult women (and men) enjoy the series, because it does touch on adults (or at least 18 year olds) deal with. So, don't judge the books by the movie! Just judge the movie. :)