Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Initially, I wasn't too keen to go see this remake. I've read the books, I've seen the Swedish version and I didn't particularly think a remake would improve the quality of the film. In fact, I usually make a point of not seeing the remakes of foreign films for the sake of putting them into English (I still haven't seen Let the Right One In's English remake!).

However, I got talked into seeing it and I was pleasantly surprised by how closely the film stuck to the book and improved on the previous film. Stopping the cast from watching the Swedish film may have had something to do with the difference in acting style but the actual artistic vision of the film and the pacing was different too. Firstly, the pacing of the film, closely matched the book and so immediately it gained my respect. I remember the Swedish film felt a lot longer than it was or needed to be to convey the action but this film held my attention from the first and it never felt a chore to watch it, despite covering some difficult subject matter.

I particularly liked the sound design as Blomkvist was approaching Hedestad. The images were accompanied by a kind of tinkling sound, as if he was entering a new phase of being, something that would be like a fantasy and consume him perhaps. The sound was almost like chimes, and I definitely want to try to use this sort of sound in a future project.

The casting was spot on, Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) was a more emotive Salander than in the Swedish film, meaning relationships were clearer whilst still maintaining the wild and slightly anti-social feel that keeps her character close to the book. Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) was a little wooden in comparison to Mara, yet I don't feel that it damaged the overall feel of the film. The interactions with the cat were just as I'd read them and I think it was at these points that his characterisation was strongest as you got more out of the performance.

Visually, the film was very dark and this seemed to enhance the mystery of the film. I specifically remember one section whilst Lisbeth is struggling with her guardian who is trying to chloroform her, where the camera is slowly tracking backwards, the door shuts and the sound becomes a muffled struggling, as if you are there. It then shows her struggling to breathe again but we return to the outside once more and the next time we're in the room with her, she is tied to the bed. This is a new way of approaching a scene with a blackout because instead of just following the conventional struggle then blackout then awakening, we are almost in the situation with Lisbeth and see how vulnerable she is by hearing how muffled the struggle is from the outside. It also allows time for the blackout without blacking out the screen and in this way is a far more innovative approach.

Overall, I think the film is more successful as a book adaptation and stylistically than the Swedish film. Although I went into the cinema thinking it was an unnecessary remake, I came out thinking that the improvement was so vast that it was definitely justified.