My estimation of whether or not a movie I’ve just watched was “a good movie” is largely determined by how much that movie sticks with me in the hours and days after I watch it. Simply put, something that your brains keeps returning to, and which you keep thinking about, can probably be considered a good movie. After all, it’s the best movies that leave us thinking about its components, turning over and examining the individual ideas and concepts which make up the whole.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is a good movie. We watched it the other night, and I’ve found myself thinking about it a lot since. My first thought as we watched the end credits roll was summed up when I told Victoria “movies like this can’t be made in American anymore”. Sure, they’ll trot out an Americanized version of it, which will strip the movie of all of its original strength and smooth off all of the rough edges for the delicate American palate. But it’s unlikely an original movie like The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo would ever get the green light in the States.
I haven’t read the books, so I won’t be drawn into the pointless debate about which was better, the book or the movie. Books are always better because you stage the entire production in your own head with an unlimited budget. How can film compete with that? That’s like arguing over which is a better planet, Jupiter or Mars. They’re just not the same thing.
Anyway, I really liked The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I’d heard a lot about Noomi Rapace in the role of Lisbeth, but I was surprised to find that the movie was actually carried with amazing deftness by Michael Nyqvist in the lead role of Mikael Blomkvist. This is not a movie for people with short attention spans, although there’s enough action in it to satisfy even the most casual surface skimmers. What makes this such a great movie, and forces you to think about it afterwards, is the complex storyline. It’s a terrific mystery that will, I believe, age very well. This is one of those movies that will only become more iconic as time goes on.
I won’t bore you with plot details. My intention here was not to write a review of the movie. If you need to know anything about The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, let it suffice to say that the fact that I was compelled to write about it at all speaks volumes to its worth as a motion picture. I’m looking forward to watching the next movie in the series. These are characters that I definitely want to spend more time with. That’s all that really needs to be said.
By the way, if you’re allergic to subtitles, I recommend that you get over it. Sure, they’re making an American version of this movie. But in my experience the American versions of foreign films are almost always pale imitations.
