Filmbook: "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" (2010)

I walked out of "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" last night with possibly the best feeling you can get from an adaptation, namely: "I've got to read that book again." Quite the contrast from earlier in the film when I was thinking, "What the what have I gotten myself into?"

I read the bestselling Swedish crime thriller in 2008, when it was just one of many imports from foreign markets hoping to hit it big among American readers. I was riveted straight through to the second and third books* with only the delays of publishing schedules. There was a fair amount I had forgotten about the first book, though, prominent among them how incredibly violent and brutal it is. I know my tolerance for described violence is much higher for depicted violence, but some of the scenes, even though they were familiar, were shocking to me.**

I held my head thinking of the many people to whom I had recommended this book and whether my encouragement to go forth and read past the really depraved parts could be seen as an endorsement of the depraved parts. But even for that, I wanted to go back to the book and roll up the additional character development I know Larsson left there, to re-evaluate the paths each character took to their actions and whether (this is a major theme of the book) they were justified. So maybe the source of this discomfort was, to use a Nathan Rabinism, a Secret Success, because it pulled me into that world, instead of taking me out.***

As a thriller, "...Dragon Tattoo" suffers from a slight overuse of Ominous Music and a slow-to-pick-up story early on. But there are three great reasons to see this movie: Two are the leads, actors totally unknown to me who were fantastic. Michael Nyqvist as Blomkvist is sort of a cross between Jeremy Renner and Alec Baldwin, and Noomi Rapace is just the right amount of powerful and awkward as Lisbeth Salander. They've already wrapped the trilogy of movies ("The Girl Who Played With Fire" and "The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest" came out last fall in Sweden) so for the Swedish public they are Kalle Bastard and Lisbeth.

The third reason is that David Fincher has signed on for the English-language remake, with filming to start after his Facebook movie comes out, and it will be very interesting to compare them. It's possible his version will be much more innovative than this one; then again, it can't just look good.

Filmbook verdict: Read the book first, despite misgivings; then see the movie.

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* Oh yeah, that happened! I received the third book, and sleep got overrated for a little there.
** I even had to look away once -- to avoid giving spoilers I will say: the photos in the cellar, holy hell. But what a great visual match between that scene and the one in Henrik's attic, right? Creepy as fuck, but effective.
*** My relationship with superviolent movies has progressed from "hate them all" to "it's complicated." As with the last violent movie I saw, Jacques Audiard's "A Prophet," there were evidently those in the audience at "...Dragon Tattoo" who were not prepared for its nastier moments. "A Prophet" also uses its violence effectively, particularly in an incredible scene on the streets of Paris, but is a better movie overall.