Is it just me? (SPOILERS!!/Edited)

(Finally have a reply for you.)

treejam555; a sentence can't be defined. In addition, I don't feel that seduction is in and of itself an evil act, even if it's for the purpose you mention, believe it or not. Acting on the instinct to survive, as "premeditated" as it might be in Eli's case - i.e., not a heat-of-the-moment decision - does not equate to evil, as far as I'm concerned. I may not like Eli - I dislike him intensely for his manipulative nature - and I see tragedy where others see romance and love, but I don't see his relationship with Oskar as being evil, or motivated by evil. Selfish and uncaring - this is how I see Eli.

1. The key word is "act." As in putting on an. I realize that virtually everyone but me sees Eli encouraging a timid boy to stand up to his tormenter and at long last exact his revenge. I see him as someone with many more years of life experience encouraging a boy to act on his feelings of rage and put a kid in the hospital - likely as a first step toward getting him to kill for him.

2. Innocent on Oskar's part, not so on Eli's; again, he has lived much longer, not even recalling how long he's "been twelve." I believe that Oskar perceives Eli to be a girl, his denials aside. He may think Eli's statements in this regard are a test of some sort: "Would you still like me if sex or its possibility were removed from the picture?" It's a test Oskar wants very much to pass, so naturally he says Yes. I doubt that many 12 year old boys would tell a 12 year old (perceived to be) girl that he found her nude body next to his in bed to be "gross," and kick her out. Alternatively, he may have a homosexual attraction to Eli, or at least a "questioning" one. Sexuality comes in many forms, of course, with some people fantasizing relations with supernatural beings, or actually having them with inanimate objects. Perhaps the fact that we're shown that Eli has been castrated is meant to be a signal that no sexual relationship can exist, but it only really means that Eli can't enjoy one, not that Oskar couldn't, with Eli as a partner. Eli has leverage, if not all his parts, and, again, many years of life experience which has likely taught him how to use it. I see quite a few posts here referring to Håkan as a pedophile. If this fact was conveyed in the movie, I completely missed it, but I think it's natural to wonder why he serves as Eli's caretaker; I don't see any fondness between them.

3. I don't think we know from the movie how long Håkan has been Eli's caretaker; in retrospect, he did seem to be pretty bad at the job so is probably not experienced. With that said, even if he had committed only one murder to "serve" him, that earns him more, in my book, than he ends up getting from his "master": death, without so much as a parting word.

After pouring acid over his face either to kill himself or obliterate his features so that it would take longer to ID him, giving Eli time to relocate, hide, whatever, yes, Håkan does offer his life to Eli. I don't know how much of a "choice" he had at that point. Was Jim Jones not culpable in the deaths of hundreds of his followers who literally drank the Kool-Aid (Flavor Aid) because they "chose" to do so? Including the children? In any case, during this scene I saw Eli play the role of a sad child looking for her "Papa," then going to his window. For what purpose? To offer him comfort? Say a tearful thank you? No, he waits outside the window for his meal to offer himself up, and takes Håkan's life without a word, a touch on the shoulder - not even a grudging "Goodbye."

Toward the beginning of the movie, Eli had pretty viciously berated Håkan for being a poor provider, for which he ashamedly, and it seemed with fright, apologized. Maybe we're meant to perceive Håkan as a pedophile abusing Eli, or to suspect him of this, and to feel sympathy for Eli as a result, but if so I missed any hints at this. Given Eli strength and abilities, I don't believe it's possible.

4. Part I: My problem here is not with Eli; the survival instinct is strong; we don't know why he became what he is, whether or not he chose this existence. I'll assume he did not, in which case he has the right to do what he must to survive - drink human blood. Does this mean he must kill, or have others kill for him, to obtain it? For dramatic purposes, I suppose the answer is obviously Yes. But why not have Oskar ask what seems to me to be a reasonable 12 year old's question: "Do people have to die so that you can get blood?" (If in fact we're to believe he cares?) It's possible for someone to lose a lot of blood - almost certainly enough to sustain Eli - and still live. A line or two of well-written dialogue dismissing this - and blood banks and hospitals, for example - as possible options would have gone a long way with me. A frustrated/pained "They must die, there is no life for me without death, Oskar!" from Eli would have worked, without dragging the story into the harsh light of reality - so to speak! It could even have added much-needed pathos.

Part II: I think that this is a question that's irrelevant; in any event, it will go unanswered. The various scenarios that come to mind just off the top of my head (well *that* was redundant) would crash this site were I to write them all out. Then I'd start on the "finer" moral dilemmas that might arise, and possible extenuating circumstances.

I believe that Eli knows Oskar well enough at that point not to be concerned that he'd stand there and watch Eli bleed to death (or explode into flames; whatever.) A calculated risk which gave Oskar a false sense of control. Eli is nothing if not calculating (as I know I've said, perhaps ad nauseum.) I didn't believe for an instant that he didn't have a back-up plan, just in case Oskar had denied him entry. I'm not terribly creative, but can think of several ways by which he could have made a dramatic exit - by which to ensure that a remorseful, guilt-stricken Oskar, contrite to the point of desperation regarding his brief, childish temper-tantrum, would be so overwhelmingly stricken at the thought that he'd nearly killed his belovèd that he would, on their next meeting, pledge his undying - literally - love, and beg either to serve Eli for the rest of his life or be turned so that they could be together forever. This, or Eli would shrug and move on to his next victim. (And I would still not consider him to be "evil!")

To be honest, there's nothing that Eli could say, and little he could do, to convince me he loved Oskar, given that I view him as a shrewd and manipulative actor. Unfair to the character? Maybe, but there it is. Run out into the sunlight to save him from danger? *That* isn't fair; I shouldn't expect a suicidal act. I've tried to think of something, but when I think I might "have it," my mindset vis à vis Eli kicks in and tells me it would just be a further, stronger seduction of Oskar for his own needs and desires.

What might he do or say that would convince *you* that Eli is as I see him, at least to some degree?

Exactly, jidici; not my "choice," as I say elsewhere, but my reaction.