MovieChat Forums > Let Me In (2010) Discussion > Why was Owen's mother face always obscur...

Why was Owen's mother face always obscured?

posted 10 years ago by jabberwocky7575
3 replies | jump to latest

I just finished watching this and I'm just wondering why Owen's mother face obscured? Throughout the whole film her face was blurred or weirdly panned, objects that blocked it, or only saw a sliver of it (when Owen was in the principle's office after smacking that bully with the stick)

Is it some sort of stylistic choice or is there a deeper meaning that I'm not picking up on?

If Satan lived in Heaven, he'd be me

[–] Jameron 10 years ago

"I just finished watching this and I'm just wondering why [was] Owen's mother face obscured?" - jabberwocky7575

I'm not sure if Reeves has said why but it is a consensus opinion that it was a deliberate move to show that Owen was disconnected from his mother and that she was ineffective in his life. I thought it was quite clever, as subconsciously one can't (or it is automatically more difficult to) sympathise with someone who is only partially there. The same with Owen's father, who we only experience over the phone. Consequently we don't give two hoots about Owen's parents feelings when he disappears from their lives (or is that just me?).

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e3tGxnFKfE

http://tinyurl.com/LTROI-story

[–] jabberwocky7575 10 years ago

I was kind of thinking that was the reason too. Even though he had parents they were basically "out of sight out of mind"

Thanks :)

If Satan lived in Heaven, he'd be me

[–] HarpoSpoke 10 years ago

Reeves brought up the old Peanuts cartoons in one interview and how the parents are never seen in those....just off screen voices.

He definitely did it on purpose to give a sense of how she was disconnected from Owen. Note that his dad also never appears....just a voice on the phone. (voiced by the guy who played the Cop)

Her face is even obscured when we get a glimpse of her drivers license. There is a scratch on the plastic over her photo. Attention to detail there.