Though I really enjoyed the original film and the novel, I hold no animosity towards the English language retooling of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Partly because there are many ways to tackle a mystery thriller, and with a source that has so many different strands and interweaving stories, the construction can be very different and fresh.
It also has David Fincher at the helm and Steven Zaillian behind the pen. If anything, they can kick off a really gripping, intelligent, hardcore franchise that is aimed solely at adults. And something like that doesn’t come around very often. If at all. Zaillian has said recently that it will be very much its own beast:
Some people are going to come to it with a preconceived notion of what it is. At the end of the day, it is and it isn’t those things. The way that David [Fincher] has directed it, the way the actors have performed it, the way I’ve written it, it’s all its own thing.
The casting is clearly one of the strong points, with Daniel Craig, Stellan Skarsgard, Christopher Plummer, Robin Wright, Joely Richardson, Embeth Davidtz and Steven Berkoff supporting Rooney Mara who looks the part of lead character: the bisexual computer hacker Lisbeth Salander. This new photo does even more to emphasise that.
In EW she described getting the part and the physical requirements needed to pull off the role. [SPOILERS]. In particular the rape of her character by her state ordered guardian Nils Bjurman. Who then exacts revenge by turning the tables on him in a just as violent way. [END SPOILERS]
It was incredibly intense. We did it all in a week. We were working 16 hours a day, and it was really, really challenging, not just emotionally but physically. But it’s such an important scene. We wanted to do everything we could to get that right.
It is indeed a challenging and very difficult scene to watch in the original, which left very little to the imagination. If Daniel Craig is to be trusted, we will see more of the aftermath of the film’s violent events. [SPOILERS]Â The rape is undoubtedly the most difficult scene in the original, despite it being praised by victims of rape for its realism and the complete lack of fetishisation. [END SPOILER]
I personally cannot wait to see what Fincher has done with this dark material which is perfectly matched to his sensibilities. It should be set to make a star out of Rooney Mara and further establish Fincher’s career as one of the most fearless filmmakers in Hollywood.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo opens on December 21st.
