The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Niels Arden Oplev
2009
If I’m not mistaken, the original title of this translates to, “Men Who Hate Women.” That seems about right.
I’m going to say something controversial here, but I didn’t love this movie. Now, I’ll admit that part of that might have to do with the fact that I had to stop and restart it multiple times over a period of a couple weeks (it’s really long, man!), so I didn’t get the effect of watching it cold from start to finish. Sometimes movies don’t connect with me when I end up watching them that way.
But you can really, really tell that a lot must have been left out of the book this movie was based on (I don’t know that for sure, I haven’t read the books, but I probably will eventually… maybe after I read the Harry Potter series [ha!]). If I’m wrong about that, then the book must have some serious holes in it. I kind of figure that if I can tell there’s a lot left out even without having read the book, then there’s probably something wrong here.
And the story didn’t do a lot for me. It could have… I love a good serial killer movie. But, really? It was a Nazi? Who liked to kill Jewish women and exploit their religion? Except it wasn’t and it was his son who the Nazi taught to kill and who has been killing ever since in his basement with a giant killing machine? Honestly, that’s just kind of dumb. I admit that I’m hard to please when it comes to serial killer stories.
Yes, yes, of course it’s about much more than just the mystery. Except that it’s kind of not. I mean, I’m sure the book is, but the movie is limited by time and a narrative arc.
Lisbeth Salander is obviously a fantastic character. I’m definitely looking forward to more of her in the next two movies. I can’t say the same for Blomqvist. I don’t really feel like I got much of an idea of who he is. He does things, and he has problems, but he seemed pretty blank as far as actual character traits go. Maybe that is his character trait. Doesn’t make for a very good movie character, I say.
It’s possible I’m really missing something here. I don’t know. I’m making it sound like I actively disliked the movie, when I didn’t. I had a decent time watching it, as far as you can when watching something this dark and violent.
And goodness, do some of those men hate women. Not surprisingly, I had a tough time with the rape stuff, and not just because it was rape stuff, but also because of the aftermath. Of course I’m glad that the awful rapist got fucked up by Lisbeth, except that he’s a fictional character which means I’m kind of just enjoying revenge porn. And that’s sort of terrible. Maybe we’re supposed to have that cognitive dissonance. But I don’t think it’s playing on that many levels. I remember somebody (Truffaut?) saying that it is impossible to make an anti-war movie, because war scenes are, by nature, exciting on some level (even if they’re god-awful and terrifying, they still stimulate the senses– I’m not using the word “exciting” in a necessarily positive sense). I’m just not sure that this can’t also apply to rape in movies, on some level (again, I certainly don’t mean this in a positive way– should I really have to say that?). I mean, we’re not going to capture the actual horror of such a thing in a movie, so what does it really do for us? And, more than that, what does the revenge portion that comes later do for us? Certainly, the revenge just makes us feel good about watching this total bastard get the shit kicked out of him. Which is great, but it really is just revenge porn. Especially since he really only exists for that reason, since he’s fictional. Yuck.
I’ll watch the next two, and I’ll read the books, and I’m looking forward to them. But this first one didn’t blow me away the way it apparently did for everyone else. Now you can tell me why I’m wrong.
Fletch
Jeremy
Zack!
joshuastough
pfe115
vkoneonefive
OK, points taken. The movie left out MASSIVE parts of the story. I remember being curious what folks who hadn’t read the book would make of it. And now, I will just jump around a bit – Tattoo was (to me at least) a vehicle to introduce you to Lisbeth. The locked room mystery was weak, admittedly, but much more layered in the book as was the criminal case involving Blomkvist which actually in many ways was more interesting than the mystery. Blomkvist, I believe, is supposed to be bland, milquetoastian.
The first book was the weakest of the three and I would say the same about the movie – but, hey, then you get The Empire Strikes Back, right!!
I believe you were also victimized by the overhype – it happens. A problem I had with the movie/book/trilogy – Mikael/Stieg were both huge advocates against oppression/violence of women, but they both still exploit women as witnessed by Mikael catting around, etc. not a violent exploitation, but nevertheless…that left me with a bit of a bitter taste.
The cinematography was pretty though.
Will Fincher do better, did they need to be redone – dunno, but I will see them.
What Ted said. The depth of involvement of Lisbeth’s rapist/revenge object becomes apparent in the later installments, but I think “revenge porn,” while probably a valid assertion, is a bit harsh. I mean, it is fiction. You know going in that it’s fiction, you know that various plot devices are going to be employed, and this particular one serves to develop the character of Salander as one with whom you mess at your own peril. Just because she’s 3 feet tall and weighs 40 pounds doesn’t mean she’s not a strong feminine entity. That knowledge of her serves to buoy you up in later books/movies when things look their most drear. You know that Salander will ultimately get over, because she’s already dealt with horrific circumstances and come out on top. Yes, the books give you much more than the movies, but even with the books things are missing, and you have to suspend a lot of disbelief to feel that they are a satisfactory rendition of this story. But hell, I’d rather have an author allow me to fill in some gaps than to spoon feed me too many details and explanations. The movies may well have tried to take on too much, but they are spectacularly filmed and the shortcuts taken still allow a terrific story to be told.
I think it’s reasonable to assume that you have more insight into how that scene supports the narrative for the rest of the series. As it fit into just the first one, it felt like it served, yes, to show us that Lisbeth is not someone to underestimate, but it especially served to make us say, “fuck yeah, that human slime just got what he deserved,” which is both very satisfying and pretty unsettling (unsettling that it’s satisfying). Do I really have to believe that we can’t see a character as a strong woman unless she beats the shit out of a guy who raped her? My problem is more with these *sorts* of scenes in books and movies– yes, it is fiction, which means the writer can do whatever the hell he wants, and he chooses to do this. And I think, on some level, he does these things because they are exciting, both to him and to us. Which means it really is kind of revenge porn.
More insight? Doubtful. More experience with the character, quite probably. The books and movies are very violent, and one learns why this might be true by watching the second movie or reading the second book. One can understand why Salander escalates things in her retaliations when one sees what she has been through in her life, not just with her weasel of a guardian. Not that you’re wrong about the revenge porn aspects of her retaliation, nor would I disagree that the author was excited when he wrote that part (and others, you’ll see). I’ll bet he was. Authors often exorcise their own demons through their writing. I, too, found it uncomfortable and gratuitous, but I understood better why the author went there after I read the second book.
I haven’t read the books but I thought the movies were character-driven and the Blomqvist character was given value 1) by his loyalty and other principles and 2) Lisbeth’s reaction to him. The mystery more challenging for Larsson than the plot is how these two people from entirely different dimensions can find one another and make sense out of each other. I think the salvation themes — Lisbeth leaving and coming back repeatedly seems like the clear signal — fit nicely with the everyman/hero portrayal of Blomqvist. He needs an avenging angel and he gets one. I like a lot of other stuff about these movies, mainly that actress! but I will wait on the discussion. Thanks for starting this conversation.
I think those are good points and I’m looking forward to the next two movies.
I was really interested to read your post about this movie. I saw “Tattoo” about a month ago, and I think I had the same reaction as you. I liked it, okay. I like mysteries. And I liked it that the good guys won, because that’s the kind of mystery movie person I am. But I also felt like the rape stuff was more graphic than it needed to be. Whenever I watch scenes of sexual violence in films (actually, I DON’T watch them, I get the idea and turn my attention elsewhere,) I can’t help thinking that someone has watched that scene and perhaps NOT been repulsed, and that really bothers me.
On the subject of revenge porn, Fletcher, have you ever seen Bandit Queen?? If so, then you know what I mean. If you haven’t seen it, then this is a warning that you should spare yourself. It’s supposed to tell the story of Phoolan Devi, but the gang rape scenes were so traumatizing that I had to leave the room to have a full-on panic attack and so never reaped my “reward” as a viewer to see her get revenge. That film was based on a real person’s life story, so no author had to dream it up, but because it WAS a true story, I felt like just knowing that our heroin was abused was enough, I didn’t have to watch every gory detail. Like you said, YUCK.
But back to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – I don’t think I will watch the other two films OR read the books. I have a feeling the violence only escalates and that’s not really my thing. I will just read your reviews of them. I am curious, however, to see how the scene is handled in the American version. So let me know, when you go and see it.