First Film Recommendation in 2012
...and the winner is The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. The new English adaptation, with Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer and Stellan Skarsgard.
Wow.
Now I admit that I have yet to get through the book - Larsson's writing style, or, rather, the translation of it, is not really gripping me - and the Swedish-language versions with Noomi Rapace (Madame Simza, from Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows!) as Lisbeth Salander are still on my list of things to see, but I thought this was an excellent movie.
The film is very brutal in spots, and deserves it's "R" rating for a very nasty rape scene that doesn't leave much to the imagination, and for the retribution that follows. There are also a few consensual sex scenes that probably contributed to it's rating, though they are not what will stick in your head afterward. Those looking for action need not apply (only one climactic car chase), and definitely not a movie for children or the faint-hearted, but nevertheless a gripping and involving thriller.
The credits set the tone, with a montage of disturbing black-on-black scenes set to a cover of "The Immigrants Song". The film starts and builds slowly. Blomkvist and Salander don't meet until about a third of the way through, so Daniel Craig's sections at the beginning of the film drag a bit, but once they meet the pace picks up and evens out. Craig turns in a respectable low-key performance as Blomkvist, which really allows Rooney Mara's fabulous performance as Salander to shine. She's utterly convincing as the damaged survivor of abuse, both brittle and unbelievably strong.
Not for the squeamish, but recommended.
(Now, off to the Kindle Fire to stream the Swedish version!)
Wow.
Now I admit that I have yet to get through the book - Larsson's writing style, or, rather, the translation of it, is not really gripping me - and the Swedish-language versions with Noomi Rapace (Madame Simza, from Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows!) as Lisbeth Salander are still on my list of things to see, but I thought this was an excellent movie.
The film is very brutal in spots, and deserves it's "R" rating for a very nasty rape scene that doesn't leave much to the imagination, and for the retribution that follows. There are also a few consensual sex scenes that probably contributed to it's rating, though they are not what will stick in your head afterward. Those looking for action need not apply (only one climactic car chase), and definitely not a movie for children or the faint-hearted, but nevertheless a gripping and involving thriller.
The credits set the tone, with a montage of disturbing black-on-black scenes set to a cover of "The Immigrants Song". The film starts and builds slowly. Blomkvist and Salander don't meet until about a third of the way through, so Daniel Craig's sections at the beginning of the film drag a bit, but once they meet the pace picks up and evens out. Craig turns in a respectable low-key performance as Blomkvist, which really allows Rooney Mara's fabulous performance as Salander to shine. She's utterly convincing as the damaged survivor of abuse, both brittle and unbelievably strong.
Not for the squeamish, but recommended.
(Now, off to the Kindle Fire to stream the Swedish version!)