MONTGOMERY VILLAGE, MD, December 31, 2011 — We went as a family to see "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," starring Rooney Mara as the Girl and Daniel Craig, expecting to be disappointed, as disappointed as I have been with most of the movies that have seen made in the last several years. However, this movie was not a waste of time and money. I was pleasantly surprised. The American version of the popular novel and movie was not completely “Hollywoodified.”
In fact, there were only a few clichés and surrenders to the adrenaline-seeking American movie goers. Many people who have read the great novels by Stieg Larsson and the equally good movies made of them agree that there was no reason to make an American version. And the value of the latest version was relatively small, but I have to recognize that for those that come to the movie as "virgins" of the Larsson novels, they will enjoy the movie. There may be some subtleties in the plot that would be difficult to pick up/understand.
That said, except for very few changes in the original plot (that was very well portrayed in the Swedish version of the movies), the movie is an excellent representation of the great novel and the original films. I guess Hollywood didn't believe they could sell the American public that the female protagonist hated herself for liking the male protagonist, for example, and so they had to find a subterfuge for the split. In the books, this split is a fairly big point. The cat scene is the most explicit "blood and guts" one. There is also a particularly violent rape scene; however, it is very necessary for the plot (as those who have read the trilogy know.)
My son, a typical teenager who wants continuous action and no plot at all, had shown interest in seeing the film after we tried to get him to watch the Swedish version. He thinks that having to read subtitles or to listen to dubbed films is not enjoyable.
There is no doubt that the Swedish version of the movie is more subtle than the American version. However, the differences are not so marked to make some of us believe that Hollywood is sure we are all intellectually slow. Reading some of the articles about the new holiday releases and how "Mission Impossible" and "Sherlock Holmes" took the lion's share of the movie money, I have to agree with some that have come to the realization that "foreign" movies or those based on foreign novels are automatically nixed by the movie-going public in the US.
The movie may also repel some of the more religious or traditional public. The fact that the female protagonist is a bisexual, Goth, a computer geek/hacker also may not be attractive to them. Minor nudity could be a deterrence to others. Also the movie’s ending may confuse some.
Plus the hacking and sting of one of the heavies in the movie could have used some additional explanation. All of this makes me think that this movie will be much more successful on DVD. Having to sit in a movie theatre for 2 1/2 hours is not conducive to keeping the attention of teenagers and 20 somethings.
Still it was worth seeing for fans of Larsson's books.
Mario Salazar, the 21st Century Pacifist, is a bleeding heart liberal, agnostic, exercise fanatic, Redskin fan, technophile, civil engineer, combat infantry veteran, jewelry maker, amateur computer programmer, environmental engineer, Colombian-born, free thinker, and, not surprisingly, pacifist. You can find his articles - ranging from politics to cooking a mean brisket – in 21st Century Pacifist
http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/21st-century-pacifist/ at The Washington Times Communities. Follow Mario on Twitter @chibcharus #TWTC and Facebook at Mario Salazar.
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