Noomi Rapace is Lisbeth Salander. This much I know. She embodies the character with a silent ferociousness turning her into a coiled ball with sinew and vengeance. She is justice’s angry right hand. You don’t see many characters like her on screen. The bixexual hacker with a penchant for piercings and a scowl that won’t stop. Noomi’s transformation was remarkable and complete. She went from the conventionally girlie to this tiny, leather-clad rock of post-punk androgyny. In short, she blew my mind and made The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for me. She is Lisbeth Salander. But she herself has said she no longer wants to play Lisbeth Salander.Which brings me to the subject of the remake. Like everyone, I’m reluctant. When you love something in its original form, you are resistant to any reinterpretation. But then, you should know something about us Americans – we’re not terribly fond of subtitles, or foreign films in general. So that means a whole swath of the population has never met Lisbeth Salander, this remarkable heroine in the canon of film history. And they should, because women on screen don’t often get to be tough and avenging and guided by their own morality – or gay, for that matter.
So while I have real and unrelenting reservations, I am going to give the American The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo a try. I am going to trust director David Fincher to bring this story to the masses. I am going to hope that Rooney Mara can embody her with the same fire and strength (check out her decked out as Salander for the first time in W magazine here). I am going to cross my fingers that Bond himself Daniel Craig will not overshadow the story and make it about him. I am going to do all of this because I think it’s a good story and I want more people to meet Lisbeth Salander.
But believe you me, I am also going to miss Noomi Rapace the whole damn time. Happy weekend, all.
Agree with you....
ReplyDeleteShe is Lisbeth for ever....
There was something about Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth that just seemed right and her Lisbeth was hot, to boot!
ReplyDeleteThe remake may be a good movie, but Rooney Mara looks freakish as the remade Lisbeth.
Lisbeth is a unique creature to see in the movies, no doubt. Fierce, damaged, bisexual. Oh wait, aren't all bisexuals unbalanced, amoral and unpredictable in movies?
ReplyDeleteI found the movie very much like a typical american suspense/serial murder of women movie.I thought parts were really offensive and bordered on misogynistic, such as showing polaroids of all the dead women. We can debate whether or not the rape scene was dragged out and for what reason. Just a lot of violence to women in that movie and not done in a way that seemed new or like a commentary.
Just saying....it's not such a great movie, imho. Noomi didi a good job portraying her.
I just read Fincher is CHANGING the ending - among other liberties it seems: "The script, which captures the novel's bleak tone, was written by Academy Award winner Steven Zaillian, who wrote Schindler's List, and it departs rather dramatically from the book. Blomkvist is less promiscuous, Salander is more aggressive, and, most notably, the ending — the resolution of the drama — has been completely changed."
ReplyDelete"This may be sacrilege to some, but Zaillian has improved on Larsson — the script's ending is more interesting." - FINCHER
I don't trust Hollywood to do justice to any of the characteristics of Salander that have been listed here. It's beating a dead horse, since we all know the tropes of women that appear on the silver screen, but I'll say it again. Hollywood doesn't know how to write strong women, and certainly not how to approach female characters as dramatically independent as Lisbeth Salander.
ReplyDeleteSo hearing that things are being changed and rewritten as "more interesting" reads to me as "here are some changes we'll make to pander to the lowest common denominator".
I'm with Dorothy; I'll give the movie a chance, but I simply don't believe that they'll end up doing right by the books, or by the Swedish movies.
I hate American re-makes. whyyy. But I support those new pictures... a little too goth though, if you ask me. Noomi was perfect.
ReplyDeleteAmanda
Lisbet was awesome in the books and in the movies. The advantage of being Norwegian is that I also understand Swedish and don't have to rely on the subtitles :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm not fond of remakes, but I'll give it a chance if the reviews are good.
Nah.
ReplyDeleteCringed when I saw the W mag cover & the other pics of Mara. I had thought I'd give it a chance, the US version. But this cover article has put me off.
I'm not convinced Mara will be up to the standard that Rapace set in the Swedish version.
one Picture? ONE picture!
ReplyDeleteI just think it's pointless do decide something is terrible (or awesome) without actually experiencing it first. Let's say the Fincher/Mara version actually turns out really well; it's not like it negates the existence of Rapace's great performance. Plus, the Swedish films were a massive worldwide success and did really well during their theatrical runs in America, so it's not like Sony has taken some hidden gem that never got a chance to be seen elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteAnywho, I can't be the only one who likes the fact that Mara looks freakish/weird, right? Rapace was fucking awesome, but was way to pretty for my taste and she dressed like the goth kids I used to see at the mall. Salander was always described as being weird looking in the books and I like that they've taken that to heart.
Considering Fincher's filomgraphy, I don;t think anyone needs to worry about some cookie-cutter version. That guy hasn't shown to be afraid of making dark and morally screwed-up films and the Sony executives have already gone on record as saying it would be utterly stupid to water down the story.
Why, yes, my friends and I did have a little David Fincher mini-marathon recently. Why do you ask? ;)
I, for one, am pumped.
The US foists off English language movies all over the world and somehow the rest of the planet copes just fine. The originals were so damn good I don't need to bother waiting for the remake to know it will be a pale shadow by comparison. Americans can just stop being so anxious and moronic about subtitles and foreign languages and watch the originals.
ReplyDeleteI just can't believe that it is really, really that hard to watch a foreign movie for americans. I just can't. I'm so 100% sure that I won't watch this remake because it's pointless.
ReplyDeleteNoomi?
ReplyDeleteis it her name? I think I saw similar
look person on CNN. I was very enjoyed
her report, then really annoying thing
happened, then the show disappeared.
what the..
The show went very cultural way, then
it changed such a...of course violences..and so on.
I didn't do anything, just saw the movie clip.
the reason why this is so annoying, it's like
erica, she moves away during I'm enjoy her
report. that's what I hate most.
I don't understand why they make
the show worst. It was much better before.
----------------
leather? I have a leather Jacket,
I bought it about 7 years ago in my country.
but I never wear it actually until this week.
why? cus I didn't laundry my fave
wool Jacket. the cost is about $8
for dry cleaning. I have some quarters.
so my fave is rotting in the closet.
hahaha!
Lisbeth's character is decidedly intriguing. I'll have to watch the movie. I've gotten addicted to watching the TV series Nikita myself and would love it if Nikita turned out to be a lesbian.
ReplyDeleteno sh*t. I just finished watching The Girl with dragon Tattoo, JUST TODAY!! what a coincidence!! enjoyed the movie, enjoyed the mystery in it!! n what a transformation at the end!! there was unpleasant feeling though when I was watching it, cuz most victims were female, raped n murdered.....
ReplyDelete