"Let the Right One In" is the little vampire movie that could, but I missed it. And since it only stuck around in Indianapolis for one week, I'm guessing a lot of other people did, too.
This movie about a little boy who becomes friends with a girl who apparently is a vampire has been getting rave reviews. I first read about it in "Newsweek" from the inestimable critic David Ansen, and have been meaning to see it ever since.
But readers of this blog will remember what a crazy week last week was, with one, two and even three screenings of new movies every day. So I didn't have time to make it to the only theater playing "Right One," thinking it would surely stay around awhile. I was wrong.
Indy gets most of the notable independent films that come out, but is by no means a top-tier market for them. If a movie doesn't make bank immediately, it may not stick around.
Since Ron Keedy closed up shop at Key Cinemas (although he may come back in another venue), there's only one cinema in town that regularly plays independent and foreign fare. And even they have increasingly filled their screens with mainstream films like "The Dark Knight" and such.
The lesson is simple: If we expect a varied menu of films to keep coming to our town, and staying around long enough, audiences have to go when a good one does come. Otherwise, "Let the Right One In" and other diamonds in the rough may never get seen here.
I read somewhere that Landmark claims a dearth of foreign and independent films is the reason for its increasingly mainstream fare. Puh-lease!
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