The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
There is a possibility that Fincher will continue directing the movies for book 2 and 3 for Stieg Larsson’s trilogy. If that happens, I will cry. It’s not that I think Fincher is a bad choice for them, a certain continuity in style would actually be very good for those movies. I’d rather say that Fincher is too good for that. He has always been very good at doing something different every time, and it would be a shame if he spent over 3 years on practically the same thing. I am just that curious about something new, even if it is something lukewarm as “Benjamin Button”.
Maybe Fincher is not a “good director”. But there is no doubt for me that he is the trendiest one of all of them. He took my heart by a storm with “Fight Club”, and with “The Social Network”, he practically made the film of the year, if not of the decade. (If you consider 2005 to 2015 as a decade, then “The Social Network” is arguably the film of the decade.) There is a very good reason why I have practically every one of his films (except for “Alien 3”), and that is the incredible impact he makes on me – perhaps the strongest amongst all modern Hollywood filmmakers.
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” has a lovely story and a somewhat sad, yet pleasant ending. I think it is not that much more than an enjoyable story, and certainly less meaningful than “The Social Network”, but it was extraordinarily enjoyable. Even the silly motorcycle chasing scenes were fun to see, and the film kept me straight in my seat throughout its entire running time.
Considering that the film is merely a good-looking, well-written crime story, I wouldn’t normally rave about it as much. What makes the film stand out and become to a serious contender to my beloved Social Network was – of course – its main character. Lisbeth is such a great character, words cannot describe her. Ironically enough, she fueled some odd fashion trend (I heard H&M’s dragon tattoo collection sold out immediately), but apart from that, she is pretty much what a modern woman would look up to these days. Deeply hurt, yet warm-hearted and immensely strong, she takes her problems into her own hands and, by the way, saves other people’s lives on the way. She chooses who she sleeps with, and does so without playing games. When she tattooed “I am a rapist pig” onto that guy’s body, I went all “Oh yeah!” I wish I could be like that. Roony ‘the Girlfriend’ Mara is doing an awesome job at it too, as the entire world of critics would probably agree with.
This film is probably is probably no “Social Network”, but I think it’s a must-watch, and if it’s just for its great main character.