Review of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) by Billie P — 21 Dec 2014

On its own merits, the movie is four star. Great direction, that opening credit was BADASS, Trent and Atticus really nailed a great soundtrack, the camera work was emotive without being overwhelming. HOWEVER: let's face it, the role of Lisbeth is made for an Oscar performance, but Rooney Mara's Lisbeth in my opinion falls far short of the intensity, mental chaos, irreverence, and sense of vengeance inherent of Lisbeth Salander's character.

It seems the look of the actors was adjusted to please a Hollywood audience as opposed to taking Lisbeth from the book, proving difficult due to Mara's Disney princess look. A shocking haircut and photo shoot should do the trick.

Mara's attempt at an accent was laughable and barely decipherable, which kind of defeats the purpose of making the movie in English, right? I'm tired of Hollywoodizing Swedish cinema, which is world class in itself and deserves recognition from Hollywood.

I wanted a stronger, smarter, more traumatized, chaotically stoic, and unstable Lisbeth, one who is always walking the edge of sanity. So much that you can see it in her eyes. I want.... Noomi Rapace.

I prefer the Swedish cast, the Swedish performances, American direction, art direction, soundtrack, post-production, and cinematography. Daniel Craig was good as Blumqvist, but he irritated me more than Blumqvist in the books.

The sexualization of his and Lisbeth's relationship in this film left me uneasy. In an effort to add something to the film, it only resulted in taking from it. Anyways, go see it. It's a great story.

But just know there is a way better interpretation out there although this one is more highly stylized.