1138 REPORT CARD: 7/10 (B) At the end of the day, it’s just an Agatha Christie who done it, in the snow!
Bond with Bird?
The usual question for starters, should you pay to go and watch this film. At this point a chorus of angels should appear behind you begin to chant “see this film, see this film!!” So, go and do as the Gods of film bid you and go pay to see this film; it’s refreshing to see something relatively decent in a world currently filled with Justin Bieber; this film is then like a cold beer after a long and arduous journey through the desert! And if you don’t agree with me, then go and watch New Year’s Eve (2011)!
Go to see it yes, it is good, but The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) is not a brilliant film. There are things about it that trouble me, things that while I watch it, keep bubbling to the surface. I keep thinking to myself, ‘this is familiar, I’ve seen this before.’ I don’t, of course, mean that I recognise this
I never saw them do this on screen!
film as being an obvious remake, although it is, and I don’t think it is necessarily fair to compare the two films: Fincher’s version is different to Oplev’s version; they are different films, with different feels to them, different crew filming them, different amounts of money spent on them, and quite obviously different directorial ideas behind them. They are simply different takes of the same Stig Larson story. What I mean is that when I watch the film, I see the same characters I’ve seen many times before. I am not talking about performances, I’m talking about the characters themselves. However, if I were to be talking about the performances I would perhaps only be concerned with Daniel Craig. Good though he is, there is simply no variety in what he does film after film, and it concerns me that whatever he is doing, he is certainly not perpetuating the acting craft forward in the way say ‘De Niro‘ or ‘Keitel‘ did. Actors that are paid millions for a performance surely should not simply jump onto the Hamsters wheel and churn out the same thing time after time. Maybe I’m too harsh, and actually this is what all actors have ever done, simply try to make a living. However, maybe multi-millionaire actors don’t need to make a living any more, their living has already been made. Perhaps this is the appeal of many foreign language films, the fact that we are relatively unaware of each actor’s oeuvre makes their performances seem fresh.
For years Daniel Craig has been perfecting his film craft, and what he does, he does rather well, however, whatever he does, he does within every single
Seen it all before!
performance he offers. The quizzical looks and bemused tiny shakes of the head, the warm politeness juxtaposed with cold brutishness. The piercing blue eyes do however show what is important in a scene and what is not important; and this at least sets Craig apart from many other run of the mill actors. His changeable demeanour turns cold and he allows one to see that his youthful playfulness is, in fact, a façade to disguise an ageing actor at the top of his game; it is unfortunate that this game lacks depth. Craig’s craft gives him three looks: dashing indifference; warm interest; and emotionally detached coldness. The Craig oeuvre allows one to see characters that are independent and yet demanding of empathy. Bond, for example, is beaten to within an inch of his life, only to turn the tables and progress from beaten to beater, abused to abuser. They demand that the spectator empathise with him. He is tough, but perhaps not quite tough enough.
The hamsters wheel rolls round and round like every single Craig performance.
Fleming’s Bond relies on his cunning, his charm, his intelligence and upon his bravery much more than pugilism. For example, in the novel Moonraker, Fleming’s Bond sees him get the better of Super Villain Hugo Drax by beating him at a game of Bridge, at ‘Blades Club‘, a game for which Bond studiously cribs ‘Scarne on Cards’ to help him understand how Drax is cheating. Physical inferiority is of lesser importance to mental superiority. Weakness is turned to strength and through this transformation the spectator gets a glimpse of a character that has depth and emotion. By stark contrast ‘Steven Segal‘ has not taken a punch in the last two hundred years of…acting, yet the body count in his films is of epic proportion and Segal’s character have the all the depth of a Robin Reliant windscreen! No man can come within meters of Mr. Segal without being contorted them into positions a body is simply not meant to achieve.
Perhaps then it is Craig’s vulnerability that makes him an action hero for the modern audience. Conforming to this conception then, it is of no surprise to find him the weaker and more vulnerable of the two central characters within The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011). It is Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) that saves Mikael Bloomkvist (Daniel Craig) from oblivion and not visa versa, and perhaps it is also fair to say that it is through her salvation of Bloomkvist, from the jaws of death, that her own salvation is earned.
Rooney Mara’s performance will no doubt earn her awards and better movie roles, one would hope, it is a special performance in which she allows herself to be consumed by the character. If only more actresses would do so rather than force a prance and dance about the screen at the expense of the film audiences would get to see much better films. However, there is something in the performance that I have seen many times before. Lisbeth Salander is not a million miles away from the
Rooney Mara
Nikita of Luc Besson. The similarities are manifest; solitary, abused, isolated and of course, silent. The Nikita of Ann Parillaud becomes vocal as she begins to make the journey from silent child to a woman with a voice; So too does Lisbeth’s silence lessen as her character opens up and develops. The Lacanian idea that progress from childhood to adulthood comes through the acquisition of language is played out time after time within many films, however unlike Parillaud’s Nikita, who appears little more than a cypher at the start of Nikita (1990), Lisbeth is both clearly and demonstrably capable and intelligent, maybe then it is the lack of desire to talk that restricts Salander’s interaction rather than
Ann Parillaud
Nikita’s inability. Linking both characters is their silent journey, the rite of passage from one state of mind to another, the overcoming of severe abuse and adversity, to becoming a contributing member of society, well almost, in Salander’s case, the journey from stasis through disruption to once more regain stasis means going from being alone, the being together to once more being alone. The message is quite clear, tough men leave the party with the woman, however, the tough woman walks herself home!
I don’t believe however that this similarity to other films, to other characters is a negative as this is a film that deserves more credit than to simply to say this is another femme fatale flick or even another Fincher film, and
Rooney Mara
therefore, by default, it is really good. If one explores why this is a good film the first reason one might come to is that it is not like the plethora of utter tripe that Hollywood is producing, Certificate [IQ] 15 may be interpreted as Certificate L (L for Lobotomy). The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) stands apart from these films, and while this does not make it a good film, it certainly makes it better than Alvin and the Chipmunks (2011). The film has an 18 certificate, and this is warranted given the sexual and abusive content, and so will naturally not perform well at the Box Office when compared to more ‘accessible’ [see shite] films. But the film does deserve credit. Jeff Cronenweth’s cinematography is competent, fluid and moody and reminiscent of his other Fincher collaborations, such as Fight Club (1997) and The Social Network (2010). The Swedish location also does the film a great service. In keeping with the Scandi-Crime of written fiction, the environment plays a central in the personality of the story.
In short then, this film gets a reasonable review even though, when all of the Hollywood glitz and promotion bandwagons are removed, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) is still quite a decent ‘who done it’. However, unlike a decent game of Cludo, it offers the stereotyped characters and possibilities only to find that when you open the envelope at the end of the game, the cards telling you that it was Colonel Mustard, with the rope, in
David Fincher
the Library, are simply missing. But it is an honest film that does not pretend to be anything more than a decent who done it. The Cert 18 rating is deserved and those who enjoy nudity will enjoy Craig and Mara’s efforts to entertain; it is a well made adaptation of Stig Larson’s novel. I’m sure, were he alive today, Hollywood would have him giving his blessings and congratulations on Fincher making a great film; Hollywood demands sycophants! Those people expecting Bond will be only partially disappointed by Craig’s performance. The star of the show though is undoubtedly Rooney Mara, her lights will hopefully shine for a long time to come. Let’s hope that she can now find a role entirely different to Lisbeth Salander and develop her acting ability further.
Kino 1138 