Maybe I've seen too many Bergman and Kubrick films, looking for meaning in every word, gesture, and set prop. But I just can't shake this. While it’s loud and clear from the opening frames that Agnes is in love with Elin, I think Lucas shows, by subtle, almost subliminal hints (that he may have only been half aware of) that Elin has always had eyes for Agnes. This disparity in handling the characters is fitting because Agnes has accepted her sexuality (she's not shouting it from the rooftops but she's not denying it either), while Elin has yet to accept her own. Elin has been very careful about hiding her interest in Agnes, perhaps even from herself. She’s done such a good coverup that Agnes has completely missed it.
But I think the signs are there. Consider the following:
1. In the early scene in the school cafeteria, Elin moans that her life is boring, she hates it, etc. and puts her head down on the table in mock despair. Meanwhile, Camilla and the others rag on Agnes about her party, and Agnes storms out. This whole time, Elin has kept her head down on the table. The last shot in this scene shows her with head down, eyes open, not speaking but no longer holding her breath. She heard her friends tormenting Agnes but did not want to take part in it.
2. When Elin wants to go to Agnes' party rather than Christian's (notice how she overheard about Agnes' party in the cafeteria and hasn't forgotten), she makes some rather lame excuses to Jessica. Maybe there will be cute guys, maybe there will be people from other towns. The real reason is because she wants to meet Agnes.
3. Elin knows what class Agnes is in ("in 9A"). She also knows where Agnes lives (how else do they find their way to her house?). Elin seems to know a lot about Agnes.
4. At Agnes' dismal "party" Elin lets out several revealing verbal slips. When Agnes is locked out of her own room, Elin wants to let her in because "she's nice." In her entire social circle, Elin is the only one who feels this way about Agnes.
5. When Jessica informs Elin that Agnes is rumored to be a lesbian, Elin, in the joking/serious manner of those inching close to the closet door, says it’s cool and that she wants to be one too. She makes this same remark later to Agnes and, I think, again at Christian's party.
6. Why does Elin kiss Agnes on the "dare"? I don't think Jessica meant it as a dare, just sarcastically. It's Elin who turns it into a dare ("will you give me 100?"). She does so because it's a golden opportunity she can't resist. “Bloody hell! Why did I do that?” Because she wanted to.
7. When they kiss for real in the back seat of the car, it is Elin who initiates the kiss. In fact, Elin initiates everything through the whole film: going to Agnes' party (which starts the whole relationship), the "dare" kiss, leaving Christian's party and going back to Agnes, the idea of running away to Stockholm, kissing in the car, the final talk in the restroom.
I don't think it's just a matter of Elin being lesbian from the beginning and gradually discovering it. I really think she always had her sights on Agnes, whether she knew it intellectually or not.
Am I nuts? What do you all think?