Review of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
The American version of the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo wasn't bad, it just lacked the finer qualities that made the Swedish version so good.
Noomi Rapace managed to make Lisbeth Salander feel like a real person with Asbergers and problems, a strong individual unable to sustain regular relationships with people.
Roony Mara does not. To me it felt like she was a too perfect character, like she was almost normal, although with a photographic memory, a punk wardrobe and an urge to hack computers. Mara’s version of Salander is a young woman who cannot function without Michael Blomkvist, she needs him to be able to find the bad guys and punish them.
That need takes away some of the feminist message that Steig Larsson’s books had.
The American version also failed to bring some of the charisma that the Swedish version had, the underlining humour that made the relationship between Blomkvist and Salander so enjoyable to watch, the small things that showed the audience exactly how different the two persons are.
Despite this the film was watchable and on occasion enjoyable. The soundtrack by Trent Reznor was as excepted awesome. I had some fun recognising places and brands.
But if you haven’t already seen any filmed version of the book yet I urge you to watch the Swedish one, because it is better.
