It's All the Rage: Dragon Tattoos
July 9th 2010 00:14
I just finished watching the recent Swedish thriller, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - based on the popular book by Steig Larson. I had tried reading the book before, but couldn't quite make it past the first few pages. I guess I prefer my thrillers via film rather than word.
:: SPOILER ALERTS ::
:: SPOILER ALERTS ::
:: SPOILER ALERTS ::
Overall, it's really great and a definite recommend. It was a thriller, but something about it being foreign made it feel more interesting and unique to me. I think if this same film was made in Hollywood, it would have felt cliche -- like the romance that happens between Lisbeth (played by Noomi Rapace who will no doubt become the next hot, 20-35 year old male fantasy) and Mikael. But it being Swedish, helped create its own authentic voice.
The film unfortunately does not pass the Bechdal Test. Yes, there are at least two women with names in the film. No they don't talk to each other. And the two women who do talk to each other (Lisbeth and her mother) talk about man, so their conversation doesn't pass the test. So, that was disappointing that in a movie titled for Lisbeth, more women don't play a more active role.
I'd even consider that the "real" main character of the film is the journalist Mikael Blumkvist (played by Michael Nyqvist who has a long history of Swedish films under his belt) and not Lisbeth. I don't completely agree with that, she is the one to basically solve the murders every step of the way. It's just something about her character development that was slightly off. We know very little about her - and that plays into her mysteriousness and fucked up-pedness - but it also makes me feel like she's being fetishized. Here's this tough as nails chic who fucks who she wants, when she wants but she doesn't really have any other sides to her. She's brutally raped. She's molested as a child. She invades personal privacy. She gets beat up randomly on the street. She was in a psych ward. Etc. She's such an extreme that for Mikael to fall for her (and vice versa) seems just a little too quaint. If she were a man, she'd be a complete psychopath - she'd be Gottfried so to speak. But because she's sexy and mysterious, this craziness is overlooked... even appealing?
I'm not saying I don't like Lisbeth's character, or this movie, I'm just saying the film made me uneasy, which isn't a bad thing. I'm very curious to how her character in the film compares to her in the book. Anyone? I'm also curious to see how her character develops in the next movie: The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. And I'll definitely be in line to see it, so I'll let you know.
:: SPOILER ALERTS ::
:: SPOILER ALERTS ::
:: SPOILER ALERTS ::
Overall, it's really great and a definite recommend. It was a thriller, but something about it being foreign made it feel more interesting and unique to me. I think if this same film was made in Hollywood, it would have felt cliche -- like the romance that happens between Lisbeth (played by Noomi Rapace who will no doubt become the next hot, 20-35 year old male fantasy) and Mikael. But it being Swedish, helped create its own authentic voice.
The film unfortunately does not pass the Bechdal Test. Yes, there are at least two women with names in the film. No they don't talk to each other. And the two women who do talk to each other (Lisbeth and her mother) talk about man, so their conversation doesn't pass the test. So, that was disappointing that in a movie titled for Lisbeth, more women don't play a more active role.
I'd even consider that the "real" main character of the film is the journalist Mikael Blumkvist (played by Michael Nyqvist who has a long history of Swedish films under his belt) and not Lisbeth. I don't completely agree with that, she is the one to basically solve the murders every step of the way. It's just something about her character development that was slightly off. We know very little about her - and that plays into her mysteriousness and fucked up-pedness - but it also makes me feel like she's being fetishized. Here's this tough as nails chic who fucks who she wants, when she wants but she doesn't really have any other sides to her. She's brutally raped. She's molested as a child. She invades personal privacy. She gets beat up randomly on the street. She was in a psych ward. Etc. She's such an extreme that for Mikael to fall for her (and vice versa) seems just a little too quaint. If she were a man, she'd be a complete psychopath - she'd be Gottfried so to speak. But because she's sexy and mysterious, this craziness is overlooked... even appealing?
I'm not saying I don't like Lisbeth's character, or this movie, I'm just saying the film made me uneasy, which isn't a bad thing. I'm very curious to how her character in the film compares to her in the book. Anyone? I'm also curious to see how her character develops in the next movie: The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. And I'll definitely be in line to see it, so I'll let you know.
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