Tuesday, January 24, 2012

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' is directed by David Fincher - the guy who directed 'Fight Club', 'Seven' and 'The Social Network'. All 3 movies that I liked and come on...isn't 'Fight Club' like a cult movie?


He doesn't disappoint with 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' either. To begin with, the casting is brilliant. BRILLIANT. I mean the sequence where they introduce the cast members, not the choice of cast (more on that later).


As soon as the casting begins, you know this is going to be one hard hitting movie....what with the amount of violence in the book...there will be no shying away from that. And there isn't. The sexual violence is all there and it's done in a way that will move you, rather than make you uncomfortable.


The movie is engaging and fast paced, and like most movies that are based on books it would help if you've read the book before. There are a couple of things you may miss if you haven't, and a few things you may not understand.


The casting I thought was a mixed bag. The male characters are spot on. I can't think of anyone else in Hollywood who would fit the character of Mikael Blomkvist better than Daniel Craig. Even the actor who plays Martin Vanger is perfect for the role - comes across a regular guy, even nice! But mentally, he's sick and deranged.


I'm not so sure of the casting of the female characters though. Let's start with Erika Berger who is played by Robin Wright ('Message In a Bottle', anyone?). I agree she is never described as being hot or pretty in the book (or is she?), but she comes across as quite sought after and is an important character in the scheme of things. Robin Wright just does not have much of an impact as Erika Berger, not much to do in the movie.


And then there's Lisbeth Salander herself. Now. In the book. She kicks ass. And even though she is a complete social misfit you find yourself rooting for her because she is just so awesome. She isn't social because she doesn't give a damn, but the movie makes her come across as shy. The actress who's played Lisbeth Salander has done a good job no doubt - given it's such a challenging role physically and emotionally - but she's not all that Lisbeth Salander is. And that's a real shame because she is the hero of the series. Maybe I'm feeling this way because I've seen the Swedish version where I found the actress to be awesome.


My main grouse with the movie is that they have changed the ending!!!!!! It may sound like a nice twist, and people who haven't read the book will not pick up on it, but I don't like it when they change things in movies from what they are in the book. I can understand it if it's done to make things more cinema-friendly, but here they have actually changed a part of the story in a way that was not required.

9 comments:

Bluestocking said...

They changed the end??? Now i find myself speculating what it might be....a happy ever after perhaps?
I too don't like it when they change the story in the movie, whether necessary or otherwise. I find it quite jarring and tend to avoid such movie versions. But i just might catch this one to see what did they do with the end and if that makes the remaining two books more palatable.

Moonshine said...

Daniel Craig as Blomkvist was a brilliant casting decision I thought.

I would love to watch the movie - I have no idea when it is releasing here.

Why the hell did they change the ending!!!!!!!!!!!!! What was wrong with this one!!

Scarlett said...

@Bluestocking - Oh, I'm so tempted to tell you what they've changed! But it won't have an impact on the rest of the books in the series.

I'll give you a teaser. This is what the screenwriter says about why he changed the ending: "When I read the book, I thought, 'Why are we going so far afield for this mystery to be resolved? Might it be a little more interesting if it's solved a little closer to home?' That's all there was to it. I kind of felt it was right for the character."

Now you can keep guessing while watching the movie ;-)

@Moonshine - I don't think anyone could've been a better choice to play Mikael Blomkvist. I found out he was playing Blomkvist while I was reading the series, and I just can't get the image out of my head. He's everything that you imagine Blomkvist to be!

PS: Just realized that Rooney Mara, the actress in Sherlock Holmes 2, played Lisbeth Salander in the Swedish version!!! She was good, better than Rooney Mara I thought.

Moonshine said...

Ah thats why she looked familiar!!! Was wondering about that.. have seen a bit of the swedish movie on tv!!

Scarlett said...

@Moonshine - Sorry, I got that wrong. Naomi Rapace was the actress in Sherlock Holmes and the Swedish version of Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I always get their names mixed up!

moony said...

Hey,, how are you doing scarlett?
I am planning to close the blog (which i am not on usually).. are you on facebook/twitter? can I add you there? let me know how. TC .. :)

Life Unordinary said...

absolutely loved your comments on eM's blog. Well said, take a bow. U haven't read her books but agree with you on your other assessments. Spot on.

Scarlett said...

@Life Unordinary - I have read her first book 'You Are Here' and I knew what I was talking about :)

Ru. said...

I miss reading you :(