Spotlight: 'Let the Right One In'

It's a rare movie that's sheer sustained brilliance from the title until the riveting final image. "Let the Right One In" (★★★★, R for some bloody violence including disturbing images, brief nudity and language: in Swedish with English subtitles) refers to the legend that vampires can enter a household only when invited, but also to the fateful decision of who you should permit to enter your heart. Set in a blue-collar suburb of Stockholm in the 1980s, it focuses on the relationship between a 12-year-old, Oskar, and Eli (Lina Leandersson, pictured), whose appearance in town suspiciously coincides with a horrifying series of murders. Oskar, bullied and friendless, is attracted to Eli's self-confidence and strength. Eli is lonely, and looks forward to Oskar's nocturnal visits. The two misfits befriend each other and gradually enter a more intimate emotional relationship, even after Oskar learns that Eli is a vampire child two centuries his elder. Meanwhile, Hakan, the older man who lives with Eli and drains strangers of their blood, is getting sloppy and the authorities are on the alert. Director Tomas Alfredson maintains an atmosphere that is eerie yet as realistic as a police procedural, balancing gore with his young characters' natural innocence. Like "Pan's Labyrinth," this gloomy yet hopeful fable is about children, but it's for adults. (11 p.m. Fri.-Sun., 4:45 p.m. Mon. -Tue. Riverview Theater, 3800 42nd Av. S., Mpls. $2-$3. 612-729-7369.)