TWO COUNTRIES, ONE GIRL WITH A DRAGON TATTOO
Alexander Borg, Union Staffer
Illustrations by Mariha Lowe, Contributor
I am a strong believer in the notion that how artists express themselves is of equal importance to what they are expressing. Justin Bieber’s “Baby” uses the same chord progression as the similarly titled “The KKK Took My Baby Away” by seminal New York City punk rock band, the Ramones. My favorite artists, writers, and filmmakers are those who recognize the accomplishments of their predecessors and infuse their own unique styles to compel and innovate. It is for this reason that David Fincher is my favorite director and why I prefer his film adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to the Swedish version.
The key difference between Fincher’s film and the Swedish film (directed by Niels Arden Oplev) is that of atmosphere. Oplev chose to direct his film very bluntly in order to give it a very raw emotional impact. Contrastingly, Fincher chose to embellish his film with almost unrelenting atmosphere. In his first film, Se7en, Detective Mills (Brad Pitt) and Somerset (Morgan Freeman) futilely fought crime in a decaying city of constant downpour that reflected its moral desolation. Fincher juxtaposed the darkness of the city during the climatic showdown with John Doe, which takes place in a desert during the day. When (Spoiler Alert) evil has prevailed, the last shot the audience is shown takes place at night, which perfectly compliments the devastating Ernest Hemingway quote Somerset twists (“The world is a fine place and worth fighting for.”), reiterating the futility of his fight. Fincher would continue to hone his talent of crafting dark moods in The Game, Fight Club, Panic Room, and Zodiac.
The atmosphere that Fincher creates in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is his best most-engaging yet. Shots of icy expanses reiterate the film’s themes of isolation and buried secrets. The way the camera moves around staircases and through narrow doorways furthers the film’s already high sense of tension. Not all of the film’s atmosphere is created visually though. Trent Reznor (of Nine Inch Nails fame) and Atticus Ross reunite once again to soundtrack the film. While their minimalist piano and electronic compositions don’t stray very far stylistically from their work on Fincher’s previous film The Social Network, the industrial version of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” featuring Karen O (of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs) that opens the film retains the fervent energy of the original song while re-contextualizing it for the film.
Devotees to the Swedish film will undoubtedly point to Noomi Rapace’s portrayal of the titular protagonist as a reason for its superiority. Hell, Roger Ebert even campaigned to have her reprise her role in American films. While I did appreciate Rapace’s understated portrayal of cyberpunk hacker Lisbeth Salander, I enjoyed newcomer Rooney Mara’s performance more. Lisbeth is an incredibly complicated character that required an actor that could masterfully portray sadistic pleasure, cold intelligence, tremendous pain, and even blunt humor. Mara truly devoted herself to the role (she has the all the piercings to prove it) and her devotion came through in her performance. If she isn’t holding a golden statue come February 26th, the Academy will have hell to pay.
In summation, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo currently playing at your local multiplex is an amazing film thanks to masterful direction the Swedish version lacked. Both films are strong, but Fincher’s golden touch, Rooney Mara’s powerful performance, and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ badass score are unique to my favorite film of last year.
