The Taser-Wielding, Revenge-Taking, BAMF Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander

In case you don’t know what a BAMF is, Google it. I promise you that Lisbeth Salander, the title character of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, is exactly that, and more.

Directed by great David Fincher, the same man who brought us Fight Club, The Zodiacand Se7en, TGWTDT stars Daniel Craig, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgard and the relatively unknown, but stunning Rooney Mara in it’s main cast. Based on the first book out of a trilogy by the late Stieg Larsson (passed away in 2004), TGWTD is like an onion within an onion. Yes, you read that right. It’s like onion-ception! It is a complicated plot, with more layers than an Eskimo, that has characters in it who have more layers than previous-mentioned Eskimo. It may sound daunting now, but TGWTDT is brilliantly written, you won’t be able to put it down.. I remember spending four days reading it, sleeping only at 4am and picking the book up again the minute I was awake.

In 2009, the Swedes actually adapted all three books onto the silver screen, starring Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth and Michael Nyqvist as Mikael. The foreign-language film was directed by Niels Arden Opley, and has a cult following of it’s own. You can imagine the skeptism of the fans when they found out the there was going to be an American remake of their beloved film. Personally, I watched the American version before the Swedish version, so perhaps I am slightly (read: very) bias, but I am more than willing to admit that both films are amazing in their own right.

Henrik Vanger’s mansion

The upper hand that the American version has (other than Daniel Craig) is it’s stunning cinematography and haunting music composed by Nine Inch Nails’ lead singer, Trent Reznor. Fun fact: TGWTDT’s Director of Photography Jeff Cronenweth was not the original cinematographer of the film! Fincher had actually planned to work with a Swedish cinematographer, but as things were not working out, he called upon his long-time friend Cronenweth and they made the change. Despite the worry that the Swedish crew might not be comfortable with the change, Cronenweth was welcomed in with open arms, and got started right away.

Fincher is well-known for pushing the boundaries of film-making. There is one scene in the film after Lisbeth is raped for the first time (she is raped twice in the duration of the story), where she sits on the floor of her apartment listening to rage music and smoking. This might sound very uninteresting in words, but Fincher and Cronenweth have created it in such a way that you feel Lisbeth’s anger radiating, and you can see that her controlled little world has been turned upside down. The cast and crew braved the coldest of weather in Sweden, and you can literally feel the cold coming through the screen. It kind of makes you want to cuddle up in a thick cardigan and a mug of hot chocolate, even though we live in Malaysia!

Other extremely heart-wrenching, beautifully shot scenes include one just after Salander is brutally raped a second time. Her small lone figure hobbling through the streets, stripping in her apartment and stepping into the bath, the water running down her legs turning red.. It broke my heart, and I still cry to this day whenever I watch that scene. They managed to capture it in such a way that it rips your heart out, but you still can’t take your eyes off the screen. Another is at the end of the movie. Fincher and Cronenweth developed a way of filming someone alone so beautifully, so depressingly, that it’s like candy for your eyes, but a punch in your gut. Salander is watching Blomkvist walk away from her (spoiler alert!) and at this point, the camera is trained on her but pulls away slowly, as if you’re literally leaving her behind you. It’s a very strong and poignant composition that allows the viewer to relate to the character being left behind.

Daniel Craig as Mikael Blomkvist

“Weather plays a big part as the texture of the film. It actually helps you get a sense of what the characters are feeling.” – Cronenweth (ICG Magazine interview)

Rooney Mara, who portrayed the eccentric hacker, was nominated for an Oscar after the movie premiered, and I honestly thought she absolutely deserved to win. Unfortunately, she lost to Meryl Streep, but for a newcomer, I suppose a nomination would have been a big enough honor for now. Mara’s biggest role before TGWTDT was Erica Albright in The Social Network, also directed by Fincher. She wasn’t cast because of that connection to Fincher though – in fact, Fincher didn’t even think she could actually do it! Mara had to go through 2 months of casting, which is longer than any other casting period. Once they saw that she could stick it out, and that she was adamant that she should portray Salander, they agreed to cast her and have not regretted it since.

Mara’s transformation

Rooney brings a certain vulnerability and strength to the role of Lisbeth. She committed herself wholly to the role, piercing her ears, eyebrow and nipple (yes, nearly all her piercings are real) and going on a strict diet to lose weight for the role, as Lisbeth is described as nearly anorexic-looking in the book. When asked what she thought of Lisbeth’s goth-punk style, she strongly disagrees with the term. According to Rooney, Salander’s “style” does not stem from wishing to conform to a certain stereotype or group of people. Salander is very much a loner, and events in her life have hardened her. It’s very difficult for her to trust anyone, and her style is more of an armor, to drive people away from her. That’s the way she likes it, and I couldn’t agree with Mara’s opinion of Salander more.

There is a lot of debate about whose portrayal of Lisbeth Salander was better. In all honesty, I was more drawn to Mara’s adaptation of her. Noomi Rapace is a brilliant actress, and her version of Salander is a tough-as-nails, grittier, much more boyish character, which is very Lisbeth. Even her body is more boyish, Mara is very petite and svelte while Rapace has tight muscles that almost ripple at every turn. According to the book though, she is described as “the perfect victim”, small and vulnerable-looking, which made Mara a physically better fit for the role. But it wasn’t just Mara’s physical appearance that has won people over – it’s the fact that she can appear as “the perfect victim” but turn around and surprise you completely with the unrivaled strength of someone who has could have succumbed to her victimisation, but resolutely refuses to be one, and she does this all without saying very much.

There is not a single element in this movie that cannot be called an art. From the acting to the cinematics to the music score and even the title sequence, TGWTDT is one of Hollywood’s better examples of what a good film really is. It didn’t get very high ratings in the box office, because of it’s controversial content and being released during Christmas season, but it’s worth a watch or five. Fincher brings Larsson’s story to life in new ways, and I’m sure that if the writer was still around, he’d be beaming with pride.

Click here to see my favorite screenshots! Warning: LOTS of spoiler alerts.