Let Me In Review

Ordinarily, when you ask a child actor to carry your movie or TV show for an extended period of time, you’re asking for trouble.

Young performers tend to fare better when they can pop in for moments at a time and steal scenes, like Chloe Grace Moretz did earlier this year in “Kick-Ass.” (More on her a bit later.)

So “Let Me In” – which features (technically) TWO preteen characters at the heart of its story – definitely had its work cut out for it. As if that weren’t daunting enough, the movie was already playing with fire because it’s the American remake of a highly-regarded Swedish vampire tale.

(In case you’re just tuning in, here’s a quick recap of my position on remakes: whenever a new one is announced, I roll my eyes at the shocking amount of laziness in Hollywood…but I don’t get my pitchforks out either. I mean, the original flick is always going to be there, and a remake - even if it’s inferior - might encourage people to seek out the older flick or enhance its reputation. This attitude applies to pretty much every movie except “Singin’ in the Rain” – if someone tries to remake that, I might have to cut someone.)

Either way, I’m thrilled to report that writer-director Matt Reeves’ American adaptation is a creative success (if not a financial one) and one of the best movies of the year.

The story – in both movies and in the novel by John Lindqvist – is about a lonely, bullied young boy who develops a relationship with a vampire that moves into the boy’s apartment complex her guardian. Here the boy is named Owen, and the girl is named Abby.

I haven’t read the book, but I own the Swedish version of the movie, which I like quite a bit, but I don’t hold it in as high esteem as others do. If you’ve seen “Let the Right One In”, there won’t be many surprises in the American “Let Me In” because (except for a new, effective opening sequence that shifts the story’s timeline) everything plays out pretty much the same way. (I’m not kidding – even the film’s violent climax is almost a shot-for-shot remake.)

Reeves, however, avoids making a carbon copy by switching the setting (we’re now in 1980’s New Mexico, which looks as cold and off-putting as Sweden did), inserting his own visual flourishes (the vampire’s movements are more vicious and special effect-y, and there’s a point of view sequence with the guardian crashing a car that is hypnotically gorgeous), and delving a bit more into the characters. (Sometimes the original fell a little too in love with its own cinematography and mood for my taste.)

I mean, even the horrible bully (played by Dylan Minnette of “Lost”) ends up being somewhat humanized. The best example is probably how Reeves explores nature of the relationship between Abby and her guardian (Oscar nominee Richard Jenkins), which is now less ambiguous. Some people would argue that “Let Me In” is dumbing that relationship down for American audiences (and they wouldn’t be totally wrong), but I appreciated actually seeing the connection between those two characters. (Jenkins is very impressive, despite having only a handful of lines of dialogue.)

Still, the stars of the show are Moretz and Kodi Smit-McPhee as Owen.

Smit-McPhee is a sad, frail and heartbreaking presence as Owen. (I swear I mean this as a compliment!) Reeves helps establish his isolation by never giving us a clear look at Owen’s mom. That isolation makes his eventual connection with Abby all the more urgent and touching.

Moretz delivers her second excellent performance of the year. Moretz has become the go-to kid actress for playing wise-beyond-her-years girls, which is perfect since Abby is much older than she seems. Unlike her more ostentatious work in “Kick-Ass”, Moretz’s performance here is a study in subtlety. She’s playing someone who’s been around a long time, but is a 12-year old at heart. She’s playing a vicious killer who just so happens to look like a little girl.

Smit-McPhee and Moretz work their scenes together like pros (just like Kare Hedebrant and Lina Leandersson did in “Let the Right One In”), and Matt Reeves has overcome some serious odds to make one of the best movies of the year.

Let Me In…A