The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo--the movie

[NeilJLeonard]

I've watched all 3 Swedish films. The 1st was dubbed. The last two with subtitles. Good stuff either way. Noomi Rapace is a wonder. As is Sweden &, especially, Stockholm...

Hopefully, I can get to see the new The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo in a matinee today or tomorrow. It seems like it is in every local theater complex right now, including 2 that are within walking distance. I've just got to find which one has the lower price...

NJL

[IceAlisa]

I was looking at the posters for both at the cinema and thought they were quite telling:
Swedish movie poster, US movie poster (although in Sweden we get the X-rated version where you see Mara's boobs).

The website doesn't allow links but I searched it and have to say that I have never seen the poster with Mara naked advertising the movie. The one that's widely used is with the profile of her with Craig looking over his shoulder. Also, I don't think boobs means X-rated, usually just R.

There was nudity in the Swedish film as well but not as close-up as in the US version. Nudity doesn't bother me usually, violence does.

[NeilJLeonard]

Probably not a popular opinion, but, the American version at least equals the Swedish overall and, in several ways, especially because the ending is closer to the book than the Swedish, IMvhO is better........

Not to denigrate Noomi Rapace's performance in any way, I also thought that Rooney Mara redefines Lisbeth by making her harder edged in the beginning & softening her somewhat as the movie unfolded, only to regain the edge in the final scene. Helluva performance. Is should be a career maker.....

Some drift from the book and as choppy as the book and the Swedish version, but that's just the way the story is. Overall a beguiling, excellent, excellent movie that I enjoyed tremendously. I highly recommend it....

NJL (...I also recommend the Swedish films, too...well made and well acted, all of them......)

[IceAlisa]

I don't think yours is an unpopular opinion, NJL. A lot of us seem to have liked the US version, despite ourselves.

I agree with you that the US ending was better being closer to the book.

[NeilJLeonard]

I don't think yours is an unpopular opinion, NJL. A lot of us seem to have liked the US version, despite ourselves.

I agree with you that the US ending was better being closer to the book.

True, unlike the 1st page of this thread there seems to be near unanimous agreement that Hollywood made a very good movie. It is a good story well told in both, but, I think I'm the only one to state that, while the Swedish version is very, very good, the US version is the better movie.

Plus, thus far it seems that most give high marks to (Patricia) Rooney Mara, too. I did not think anyone could get close to Noomi Rapace's performance. Mara's is at least as good, IMO. That surprises and delights me. She's worth the price of admission.

NJL

[IceAlisa]

Is Patricia her first name? Interesting how so many celebs go with their middle name. Ashton Kutcher, Kemp Muhl, etc.

[FiveRinger]

The rape scene is just as brutal and hard to watch. Yes, they had the cat scene in this one. The cat, btw is adorable (when alive).

I saw the movie on Xmas, and I have to say that the rape scene was disturbing...I couldn't watch it, had my head in my knees during the entire scene.

I enjoyed the movie more than I thought that I would. I am motivated to read the book now, which has been on my Kindle for over a year and I hadn't gotten around to reading.

[Marge_Simpson]

Heads-up for any Noomi fans in the NYC area: Scandinavia House is showing the film "Beyond" this Wednesday at 6:30 PM.
I go to movies here quite often, the theater is rather small but there's a nice restaurant on the premises, and you can usually find Fazer chocolates in the gift shop.
I'm tempted to call in sick so I can see this. I've been enchanted with Noomi's acting since I saw GWTDT.

http://www.scandinaviahouse.org/even..._upcoming.html

[NeilJLeonard]

Is Patricia her first name? Interesting how so many celebs go with their middle name. Ashton Kutcher, Kemp Muhl, etc.

Yes, her 1st name is Patricia. The Wiki entry for her says that she does not like her 1st name; she supposedly does not see herself as a "Tricia", plus she thinks that Rooney Mara is more distinctive than Patricia Mara. She has a point on that last part. Rooney Mara is rather difficult to forget....

NJL (...and, her portrayal of Lisbeth proves she probably ain't no "Patsy" either......)

[Evilynn]

The website doesn't allow links but I searched it and have to say that I have never seen the poster with Mara naked advertising the movie. The one that's widely used is with the profile of her with Craig looking over his shoulder. Also, I don't think boobs means X-rated, usually just R.

There was nudity in the Swedish film as well but not as close-up as in the US version. Nudity doesn't bother me usually, violence does.

Without the posters I think my argument wasn't so clear, it was more about her being objectified than her being nude. Sweden is a lot more relaxed about nudity than the US (we got the uncensored poster after all, showing nipples is not a problem ). It irks me, because Salander obviously isn't passive at all. Oh well, marketing, I guess.

One thing I really liked about Fincher's movie was all the details, all the interiors etc seem to actually be shot on site, although they could've easily saved money doing Milton Security in an anonymous studio office, instead they actually shot it in an office in a building I used to work in. Very cool to see.

[Vash01]

Yes, her 1st name is Patricia. The Wiki entry for her says that she does not like her 1st name; she supposedly does not see herself as a "Tricia", plus she thinks that Rooney Mara is more distinctive than Patricia Mara. She has a point on that last part. Rooney Mara is rather difficult to forget....

NJL (...and, her portrayal of Lisbeth proves she probably ain't no "Patsy" either......)

I read that Tim Mara, the New York Giants (NFL) GM or something of that order is her grand father, and her mother is either the daughter or grand daughter of Art Rooney, the Pittsburg Steelers (NFL) owner. I have the titles and relations mixed up, but it's correct that she has relatives in the two famous NFL franchises. She has good football genes, I must say.

[IceAlisa]

Without the posters I think my argument wasn't so clear, it was more about her being objectified than her being nude. Sweden is a lot more relaxed about nudity than the US (we got the uncensored poster after all, showing nipples is not a problem ).

I could never understand why rude Amerikans are so uptight about nudity.

One thing I really liked about Fincher's movie was all the details, all the interiors etc seem to actually be shot on site, although they could've easily saved money doing Milton Security in an anonymous studio office, instead they actually shot it in an office in a building I used to work in. Very cool to see.

That IS cool, especially if you have good memories of the place.
I wonder if the studio pulled all stops, no expense spared to one up the Swedish films.

[NeilJLeonard]

I could never understand why rude Amerikans are so uptight about nudity.


That IS cool, especially if you have good memories of the place.
I wonder if the studio pulled all stops, no expense spared to one up the Swedish films.

Possibly. I forget the cost to produce the Swedish version, but I don't think it anywhere near matches the rumored $100 Mil cost of the the latest version.

ETA: cost of Swedish version = $13 Mil....Worldwide Gross = $104 mil w/$10 mil from US

[Satellitegirl]

I saw the US version this weekend and I liked it. I think I like Noomi a bit better as Lisbeth...but maybe that's only because I saw her first. The ending in the US version might have been closer to the book, but I liked the Swedish version better I think in regards to that. With everything else, I thought the US version was better. I much prefer Craig, for sure. Opening sequence was pretty kick ass as well .

[ioana]

The rape scene is just as brutal and hard to watch. Yes, they had the cat scene in this one. The cat, btw is adorable (when alive).

I saw the movie when I was away from home, visiting parents and the cat looked (and sounded!) a lot like mine. I'm just reading the book now, so the scene came as a complete shock -and not a pleasant one while at it. I was freaked out and and called my friend right after the movie to make sure my own kittie was ok. Obviously, I don't do very well with animal violence

[IceAlisa]

I don't either. Just remember, that kitty is an actor and by the looks of him, a very well cared for and well-loved cat.

[oleada]

I haven't read the books, but now I've seen both movies. I was prepared to hate Mara after some comments that I've read, but I think she more than held her own. I liked how she showed the character's development throughout the film. The elevator scene was badass. I prefer Rapace, but it's a very close call. I thought the pacing was a bit slow at first, but then it picked up.

The cat was the saddest part

[Jimena]

Just came back from seeing it. I've read the books and seen the Swedish films.

I liked this version. I love most of the actors in the movie. But I have to say, I had a hard time getting into Rooney Mara's performance. She seemed like she was playing a hard character rather than being a hard character. Like she was pretending to be that hard. I much preferred Noomi's interpretation.

[genevieve]

I finally saw this last Saturday.

HATED the opening credits. What a stupid waste of CGI budget $$$ Love Karen O but that cover of Led Zeppelin was just as useless as the graphics.

Overall I thought the movie was very good, and in general better than the Swedish version. It was truer to the book and got closer to conveying the overall tone. And it was less graphic than I'd feared - thought the rape scenes were going to be worse than they were Still very hard to watch, but I expected worse.

There were some small issues, though...

1) The accents. It's nice that Mara made an effort to establish a credible (did she succeed? EW says yes, I'll leave it to the Swedes to agree or disagree) Swedish accent, but Craig didn't bother one whit, and neither did Plummer. plus, there's already a suspension of belief in place, given that the film takes place in Sweden and everyone is speaking english. I think consistency among the leads would have been better.

2) Uneven casting. Mara was very good, and I think Craig was excellent. My favorite casting, though, was Robin Wright. her role was small but she really inhabited Erika. But Bjurman was either miscast or (more likely) misdirected... this is a character fueled by anger and malevolence and the actor here played him far too sympathetically. And Goran Visnjic and his spray-gray hair were just laughable.

As for Noomi vs. Rooney....this is definitely a career-maker for Rooney Mara, but I give the edge to Rapace. Both were very good, but it felt like Noomi Rapace WAS Lisbeth, and with Rooney Mara, sometimes I felt that and other times I was extremely aware of the Very Good Acting going on. As with the Bjurman character, I'm not sure if that's the acting or the directing, as the film itself seemed to take great pains to highlights certain things that felt wrong, rather than it being a problem with the acting.

Overall still an incredibly strong film and I will definitely be seeing the other installments when they come out.

[IceAlisa]

ITA with your review, genevieve.