The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009 & 2011)

I've discussed my love of David Fincher's Seven and Fight Club through this blog and Strangers from the Internet, and I've written my full review of Nine Inch Nails' discography.  Given that, you might expect that I loved The Social Network.  In reality, I mostly found the film adequate.  One of those films where I had no real complaints whatsoever, but there really wasn't anything there to make me fall in love with it either.  However when the trailer for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo came out, I took notice.  This kind of crime drama seemed more appropriate for both of them, and I was excited.

While I was waiting for the film release, I checked out the subtitled Swedish version of the film thanks to Netflix.  It's a long  film, but the time really flies by as the mystery of the girl who disappeared forty years before unravels while we also get to know Lisbeth Salander.   I quickly fell in love as I watched it.  Language and cultural differences did not present any problems and I really got wrapped up in the story.  Noomi Rapace gives a fantastic performance as Lisbeth, a girl who has been through a lot in her life and has built a tough exterior around herself in response.  By the end of the film Lisbeth ranked high among female characters in fiction that I look up to.  She's incredibly smart and she doesn't take shit from anyone.  I love a girl like that.

While the American release is not a remake but rather an additional adaptation of the novel, I must admit by the end of watching this version I was wondering just why it was necessary to make another version. I suppose the easy answer is money, Hollywood not unfairly assuming the fact that some people out there just aren't going to sit through a movie with subtitles.  It certainly makes me think of Let the Right One In/Let Me In, another set of adaptations where the latter American version was largely unnecessary.

Having now seen Fincher's version, I'm still asking the question.  While there are a few scenes in each version that the other doesn't include, they are largely the same exact film with different actors.  Daniel Craig's performance as Mikael Blomkvist is incredibly similar to Michael Nyqvist's, and Rooney Mara plays Lisbeth in much the same manner as Rapace did.  The setting remains the same as does the plot.  While I was absolutely blown away by the opening credits (set to that fantastic cover of "Immigrant Song" from the trailer) I soon started to feel a little impatient while watching the film as I watched the same exact sequence of events unfold.  It's not that the film was bad, mind you.  I once made the mistake of watching the movie version of Pet Semetary before reading the book, and ended up having to put the book aside for awhile because I was left with the feeling of "I already know what happens so I'm bored!"  Given the short span of time between the two adaptations, I really feel like they should have tried to bring something different to the table. 

That said, I still really enjoyed Fincher's version as once again it's a solid story and a well done film.  His style is still evident, and his stylized quick cuts still excite me in a way that most other director's don't.  The soundtrack done by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is wonderfully creepy and atmospheric, frequently enhancing the unsettling feeling that goes along with some of the more gruesome subject matter.  Even in the more quiet moments it leaves us with a feeling of unease.  I really think Reznor's style was made for soundtracks and I hope to see a lot more of them in the future.

I should probably mention the rape scenes in the film, largely because when the movie was in theaters it was a pretty big topic of discussion.  Everyone feels a little differently about these things so I can't possibly tell you whether or not you would be comfortable with it.  I will say this though, while the scenes are disturbing, they're not graphic.  The violence is implied rather than shown, though the implications are more than enough.  It's also not even remotely glamorized in any way.  The fact that rape is a horrible act is not being glossed over.

I'm highly divided on telling whether you should watch just one version of the film or both.  I saw them with a space of 4 months in between, and with my vivid memory I found that too soon.  However I think they are both excellent movies so I hate to tell you to avoid one or the other.  Perhaps a bit of space and time between seeing the two versions would allow you to enjoy both of them equally.   I also hope to read the book, though obviously I'm going to have to wait even longer before I'm able to do that.

Song Opposites - To Need Is To Love?

Well, it's been a ridiculously long time since I've written a post.  Mostly because I'm working on other things, but also because I try not to write a post unless I have something to write about.  This is a little more meme than post, but it's an idea I had and decided to pursue for as long as I can come up with options for it.

"I Want You But I Don't Need You"

Warning: Contains language and overzealous fangirl screeching.

When I first heard this cover by Amanda Palmer, I immediately fell in love with the lyrics.  The original version by Momus is worth hearing too (and the only one available for purchase).  For me personally, it's really important to be in a relationship because I want to be, and not because I need to be.  I stayed in my first relationship far longer than I should have, simply because I was convinced that no other guy would ever like me. (Don't go feeling bad for the guy, I'm fairly certain looking back that he stayed with me for the same reasons.  We made much better friends than boyfriend/girlfriend.)  Once we broke up, I spent a lot of time trying to convince guys who had no interest in being serious to stay with me.  See, I had spent the entirety of high school with the same guy and I didn't know how to be alone.  It took me years to take a step back and begin to realize that relationships were not crutches to lean on, but rather something you add to your life to enrich it (and maybe eventually continue the species, if that's your thing).  So at this point and time in my life, it made perfect sense that this song would appeal to me.

But then a while after, I realized what my favorite love song of all time is.

"Come Undone"


"Who do you need, who do you love when you come undone?"



It certainly made me stop and think for a minute, and wonder if maybe I needed to stamp hypocrite on my forehead.  The easy answer might be "I fell in love with this song when I was 12 and knew nothing about real relationships" but the fact is I still love this song, still feel a deep connection to it today.


To me, the question being asked in the song is "When you are at your lowest, who do you want there to comfort you?"  At that moment, you do need someone.  Someone to just assure you that everything is going to be okay.  And while anyone could say it to you, there's probably someone in your life you want to hear it from the most.

So while on the surface these songs seem to be opposite, in reality (at least as far as I see it) they're talking about very different things.  The first addresses the dynamics of the relationship - I feel for you how I feel for you regardless of how you feel about me. But if you begin to hang on me and need me, I am out of here because I'm not interested in a parasitic relationship.  The second talks about those bad times we all have now and again, the times when nothing is going right or you just feel down in the dumps and can't find a way out, and having someone to hold you in those moments can bring you a temporary relief.

If you looked at the singers as two people in the same relationship, in my opinion Amanda would be a jerk for leaving Simon at that moment.  Knowing that Amanda is actually a huge fan of Duran Duran makes that scenario particularly amusing to me.

Of course I'm only looking at the words to the chorus on "Come Undone."  I'll be honest, the rest of the song doesn't really make much sense to me.  But at least it sounds pretty!

Do you interpret the songs differently?  What love song do you identify with the most?