David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

[shinjie_is_kren]

I know wala syang chance sa Oscars but...





TEAM ROONEY MARA PA DIN!

[jayjay09]

SOBRANG HOTTTT dito ni Rooney Mara damn

[thelonius92]

One Word: IKEA

[jingdalagan]

[Pandaemonaeon]

Sayang Rooney!

Bawi na lang sa sequels.

[jingdalagan]

^hopefully the sequels would get better favor from the Oscars then

[Corrrect!]

The immediate thing that stood out in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) remake was the more expensive budget. This was miles better than the Swedish version in terms of the overall look and production design. The Millennium office actually looked like the proper office I imagined from the book and not the dark and dingy one they had in the Swedish version. The flashback scenes were filmed rather than being flash of photographs on screen. Some things felt identical, beginning with Daniel Craig himself. He was the carbon copy of the Swedish actor except with an English accent and better looking. Martin’s house, the torture basement, the bridge—the prominent scenes were filmed on the same locations, but the other short indoor scenes like coffee houses had more personality here.

I liked the unabashed product placement of Coke and Happy Meal as it tied in with Lisbeth’s unhealthy eating habits. The editing win was also well-deserved. The film was heavy on exposition but it never felt boring because of the effortless intertwining of Mikael and Lisbeth’s stories. I LOVED the score. The filmed opened with that obnoxiously bombastic score during the credits (which could pass for a literal visual orgasm). The score continued to require our attention all throughout save for the climax score which was ironically whimsical. Overall the score was very playful and unorthodox which was a perfect complement to Lisbeth’s persona.

Some people were complaining that the film overwelcomed its stay with the prolonged ending. I actually appreciated that it deviated from the usual formula and provided the much needed character buildup for Lisbeth. It was irrelevant to the main chunk of the storyline but the effort to establish the sequel was there.

Rooney Mara was a little too boyish for my taste and was missing that innate dyke that Noomi Rapace had (how amusing that their names are spoonerisms of each other). Her costume design and makeup were too fashionable and didn’t feel genuine. It was as if Lisbeth took a lot of time in front of the mirror so she could look that way, which she would never do. Lisbeth and Mikael were supposed to be partners in crime, but their tandem lacked that element of partnership simply because their characters were rarely in the same scene together. Lisbeth did her own research. Mikael did his. Their characters never quite had that marriage.

Overall, this has been my 4th exposure to the same material, having read the book and seen the Swedish movie 3 times. The film was still able to trigger extreme emotions out of me. 9/10

[pork_siomai]

I saw this film only because it created such a buzz during the last Golden Globes and Academy Awards season. I didn't know Rooney Mara except that she was nominated for a a Best Actress role in the aforementioned awards. I didn't know it was based on a best selling novel. And I surely didn't know there was a Swedish film version. Suffice to say, I didn't really know what to expect. I was super clueless on the movie's plot.

But when I finished the film, I was hooked. I fell in love with Lizbeth Salander, crazy as she is. Rooney Mara did a great job and she deserved the nomination. Meryl Streep was just too hard to beat. I saw the Iron Lady and Ms Streep was really good, too.

7 days after seeing the film, I finished reading the trilogy and watched the Swedish film version. I'm addicted. Looking forward to the Hollywood film version of the 2nd book. =)