The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
I need to start this by mentioning a lot of people jump on the band wagon to insult American remakes before they have even watched them, thinking it makes them superior for preferring a foreign language film. There is a lot of good Hollywood can bring to a production. It’s called money. I’m not saying it takes a ton of money to make a good film. I’m saying it bloody helps. Sometimes no matter how clever you are, if you don’t have the money you cannot pull some stuff off. This film in particular benefitted from having money and talent to produce it.
I never read the books, but I watched the European version in 1st year. I enjoyed it but wasn’t captivated by it. It felt that they recorded events, rather than giving any clear style to it. That is what money has bought them in the American version. Style. And it is dripping with it. It has become memorable. The story alone could not do this in my opinion. The new version suffers from the same limitations as the previous version. It feels like it has been lifted from a book, there seems like there should be more information. People are mentioned briefly, or named in a scene, but are never seen from again. It has been stream lined. The mystery is barely there. It takes an age for Lisbeth, the namesake of the film, to enter the main storyline. You cannot skip the rape scene, it’s too important, but all that background takes away time that the film could use to further the mystery of who killed Harriet. The problem is that you only spend time with one of the suspects, and you as the audience know it is going to be him, simply because he is the only person who regularly appears. But despite these limitations, it is still really good, and I expect the sequel to be even better now that we have established the characters.
One thing that I noticed was that a lot of people did not enjoy the rape scene. But I argue, you are not ment to enjoy it. Who really comes out of a cinema going “that rape scene was a great laugh!”. Rapists. That’s who. It was powerful, moving, and at points I had to turn away. At the end of the day it is all an illusion, but one so strong it made me feel sick. It’s like applauding a magician for fooling you with slight of hand.
My final thought is about the opening sequence. I had my jaw nearly on the ground. I thought it was a lot like the James Bond title sequences. Ironic that Daniel Craig was also in this movie. I personally really enjoy title sequences like this. It is a chance to really set in place the style of the film.
Anyway, really worth a watch. Not just anywhere though, but in the cinema.
