The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (David Fincher, 2011)

[flyonthewall2983]

I thought she was gorgeous. I can't find too good a way to intellectualize this, but her nude scenes with Craig are (to my knowledge) the first I've ever seen on a big screen, and it had an effect beyond the obvious one. It probably never even occured to me that I had until I saw it.

[Mr Sausage]

I thought the movie actually went out of its way to make Mara look less attractive than she is. The blond eyebrows with black hair for instance, the lack of (diegetic) make-up, which had the effect of making her face seem narrow, the way she dressed down. That Lisbeth/Mara managed to attract people anyway (straight girls included) is the result of internal rather than external sexiness. She projected attractive qualities.

[matrixschmatrix]

I think there's a specific sexuality associated with the way Mara is presented, and it's one that's got a greater sense of power and dominance associated with it (for me at least) than most of the damsel in distress or Super Hot Action Babe who spends more time posing than doing shit archetypes I'm used to seeing in mainstream genre movies- it's not too surprising to me that women would find that appealing, at least relative to what they're normally given.

I think in a broader sense that this is a movie that, taken as a corrected genre movie rather than an art movie with genre elements, is remarkably nuanced and subtle- I suppose it's a question of the bar one sets, but I think almost nobody here has questioned that Fincher and his cast brought a fair amount of sensitivity to what could be fairly crude material. There is certainly a question of whether it's enough- and given some of the elements in the plot, it absolutely needs very sensitive handling to succeed at all- but to draw perhaps an unfair comparison, Mara's Lisbeth is infinitely more attractive on almost every level than Kristen Stewart's Bella, and I'm not sure that's related to how inherently good looking either actress is. I certainly don't think Lisbeth is sexualized in the sense of being presented as some passive object for the viewer to leer at, and compared to most of the other women in genre material- comic books, comic book movies, action movies, thrillers, most things that come to mind- that is a significant victory, and something that makes her terribly sexy.

[Zot!]

One thing that did creep me out a bit was how the film goes out of its way to infantilize (or whatever the teenage equivalent is) Mara's character. ... and even her eating habits (she's at least twice shown enjoying a Happy Meal and even when taking a break in the archives, it's cocoa and a sweet treat from the vending machine) .

I think that is actually what hackers/it people eat. I know from experience that being glued to a computer does not encourage good eating habits.

As for her attractiveness, I mentioned it in my previous post, but Rapace's athletic physicality is far more appropriate than Mara's typical feminine fashion-model build(and I do think this was on purpose). The remake wants you to consider her appearance much more, whereas the original was a lot less overt regarding this, shades of Pygmalion/Pretty Woman here. Similarly Craig looks like he works out every day.

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

As for her attractiveness, I mentioned it in my previous post, but Rapace's athletic physicality is far more appropriate than Mara's typical feminine fashion-model build(and I do think this was on purpose). The remake wants you to consider her appearance much more, whereas the original was a lot less overt regarding this, shades of Pygmalion/Pretty Woman here. Similarly Craig looks like he works out every day.

The media campaign (posters, magazines, etc) also presented them in a way that needs to taken into account.

[rohmerin]

I liked this US version, closer to the novel than the poor (and bad) Swedish film, but main trouble is that the 1st book is almost a masterpiece (on its plot, not literally, of course it's not Victor Hugo) that it is impossible to adapt all on 150 minutes, in spite of that, I liked it very much.

Are they going to adapt the other 2 books? The box office has been so low in Europe that I don't know. The 3rd book is horrible.

[flyonthewall2983]

This is covered earlier in the thread, but yes reports are indicating the sequels are a go. Whether Fincher is aboard is up in the air.

[flyonthewall2983]

It's weird there's nothing on the Blu-ray about the score.

[dwk]

Over at the Home Theater Forum, somebody asked David Prior about the lack of special features about the score and he responded:

In brief, the film had a very rushed post-production schedule trying to hit that December release date and it precluded any serious participation from those artists most heavily involved in post, i.e.: sound design, score and color correction. I know Ren Klyce was working round the clock for weeks on end to hit the delivery, and I pestered Trent and Atticus numerous times to no avail. I have no doubt they wanted to participate, but with my disc delivery date coming so close on the heels of the film's delivery date, it just wasn't possible.

[Alan Smithee]

Just an open question to everyone out there but this has been a fairly active topic for months now. What can we talk about aside from gender issues? I understand it's a major theme of the piece but is there a different direction we can take this from here? because it's exhausted and I kindof loved this film. I think what's been said is insightful but I've only seen it once. Is there anything anyone has to add outside of gender politics they've been itching to share?

[knives]

Is there anything the film has to offer outside of that is probably the biggest question. I know for me at least if you subtract the gender politics the film is just ordinary mostly fun pulp trash (with it you have to take away the fun part) that really has nothing worth talking about. It of course flirts with the concept of the guilt of a people with the whole nazi thing, but not only does it spell out every last thing on that account it barely offers time to the thought.

[Brian C]

Just an open question to everyone out there but this has been a fairly active topic for months now. What can we talk about aside from gender issues? I understand it's a major theme of the piece but is there a different direction we can take this from here? because it's exhausted and I kindof loved this film. I think what's been said is insightful but I've only seen it once. Is there anything anyone has to add outside of gender politics they've been itching to share?

Well, what do you suggest? It's kind of weird to leave a comment asking people to change the direction of the conversation without throwing anything out there yourself, as if we exist just for your own amusement or something.

[Zot!]

I thought Stellan Skarsgaard really brought something to the well-tread serial sadist role. I also thought it was nice that they bothered to shoot in Sweden despite the majority of the film being set on a rural estate that could have been anywhere. But yeah, without the girl, the film ain't much.

[flyonthewall2983]

I've been listening to the soundtrack in regular rotation since getting it on iTunes directly after seeing it. Slowly becoming a tie with Drive as the best one in recent memory that I've heard. How Trent went from what he represented at the peak of Nine Inch Nails' cultural influence to where he is now probably surprised a lot of outsiders, but anyone who cared enough to dig a little deeper into what he was doing probably doesn't find this much a surprise at all. And in Fincher, both him and Ross have created what hopefully could be remembered as something like what Spielberg has with John Williams or Leone with Morricone.

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

We could always discuss what other Fincher films could be spruced up with a little Enya.

[Alan Smithee]

Just an open question to everyone out there but this has been a fairly active topic for months now. What can we talk about aside from gender issues? I understand it's a major theme of the piece but is there a different direction we can take this from here? because it's exhausted and I kindof loved this film. I think what's been said is insightful but I've only seen it once. Is there anything anyone has to add outside of gender politics they've been itching to share?

Well, what do you suggest? It's kind of weird to leave a comment asking people to change the direction of the conversation without throwing anything out there yourself, as if we exist just for your own amusement or something.

Well that's the thing. I really did like it but maybe it is kindof hollow outside of gender politics because I don't know where to take it from here. What we've discussed about it's treatment of gender is interesting especially contrasting the swedish and american films. And maybe that's it. Nothing wrong with a good semi-political thriller I guess. Just trying to be more of a facilitator on this one cause I got nothin except that I came out of the film thinking I was fully engaged, it was aesthetically gorgeous and I came to really care for the characters.

[manicsounds]

The Japanese Steelbook edition, and the standard edition will include the uncut original version of the film, as opposed to the censored Japanese theatrical cut.

[jojo]

I am surprised they censored the film in Japan.

[mfunk9786]

If Salander were being raped by tentacles, it would've been fine

[domino harvey]

I imagine it was her pubic hair that proved problematic

[manicsounds]

I can't recall it in the Swedish version, but was the cat in the Swedish version of the movie or the novel?

[flyonthewall2983]

I really can't remember if it was in the movie. I'm guessing no, since I'd remember it. The scene stuck out in Fincher's version, particularly Salander's intuition kicking in upon seeing it to photograph it with no sense of attachment that you sorta get from Blomkvist.

[HistoryProf]

I can't recall it in the Swedish version, but was the cat in the Swedish version of the movie or the novel?

it was not in the Swedish film...but it is in the book. in many ways, the Swedish version is a much more spare adaptation that took out quite a bit more - the most blatant being almost entirely eliminating Erika Berger. But then it also didn't change the ending like Fincher did, so it drew on longer to fully elucidate the "mystery".

[stwrt]

the Swedish version... didn't change the ending like Fincher did, so it drew on longer to fully elucidate the "mystery".

I thought it was the other way round, the Swedish version changed the ending unlike Fincher, who didn't.

[flyonthewall2983]

Fincher thinks a sequel will happen, says the current script has huge potential.