The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Man som hatar kvinnor) (review)

Good to hear; I loved the book.

I really liked this movie but mostly because Lisbeth and Mikael have to work on something that it's not her own back story, which remains open for interpretation, that's why I didn't like the sequels

I appears that Daniel Craig will play Mikael on the David Fincher´s adaptation, and Carey Mulligan will play Lisbeth, he's just right for the part but she's way to sweet looking for it

I'm currently slogging through the first book before seeing this movie. And I want to see the movie, because I've heard so many good things about it. But the reading is tough, because the first book is just horrid from a writing standpoint.

It's like the guy pulled up a list of Things Not To Do from a Writing 101 class and resolved to do each and every one of them. Not once, but many times.

Americans are notoriously terrified of subtitles, for reasons that escape me

First as you probably suspect many Americans don't like to read, and they go to the movies to watch a movie, not to read.

Second, and much more practically, it really does detract from the experience in some way because you're using your eyes to understand the dialog and so you can miss some things happening on the screen versus when you're using your ears to understand the dialog and your eyes can focus on what's happening.

Personally I learned to love subtitles when I became a fan of anime before it really took off here, and your choices (if you had any choice) was either a dub by ludicrously bad voice actors with a translation that may not have any bearing to what was actually being said, versus subtitles which were more accurate (especially in fansubs where it was a labor of love not an unwanted expense).

I still prefer subtitles simply for the translation issue, since even in movies like Crouching Tiger where the dub was done by the same actors so the quality is good, there were quite a few places where the meaning of the dialog was radically changed in order to fit the original cadence.

At the same time, when Zhang Ziyi is kicking ass in the tavern while talking trash, I kinda wish I didn't have to divide my attention between watching the action and reading the dialog.

Worth noting: it's available to Watch Instantly on Netflix!

By and large, American audiences don't have to learn to read subtitles. Hollywood produces more movies a year than anyone can see. Foreign films have never been marketed to Americans the way Hollywood markets American films in foreign markets. And the axiom that "90% of everything is crap" is just as true in Europe or Asia as it is here. So while there are certainly subtitled movies worth the effort, there aren't enough to justify the expense.

Good movie but for me far from the best movie of 2010. It seems to me Mary Ann is more interested in the undertones and back story of the female lead than the actual main plot of the film, which is the better tale. I wonder how she would have felt had the roles of the sexes been reversed.

I went nuts over Larrson's trilogy. Loved it.
I saw the movie and felt it was "one of those," that
didn't take away the essence of the novel.
Subtitles didn't bother me much, and I was surprised
it added that they spoke in their native tounge
(sub titles being a small price to pay). I was
constantly reminded in the reading it was taking place
in a foreign country, so the spoken dialogue added
to the flavor.

The more one becomes educated in the history of the
world concerning women, the more likely one empathizes with the victims of(sometimes) brutal male "throwbacks." Mikael, along with other Lisbeth supporters (especially in the novel) are given ample focus (page quantity) to balance it all out.

As for the plot, I agree with the jacket reviewer who
mentioned Larsson wrote disregarding any formula(made for fun, unpredictable suspense).

I do agree that Carey Mulligan doesn't have the
"look," Naomi Rapace has. Rapace was perfect.

This was the best movie (for my taste) I've seen all year.

And yet somehow ordinary people all around the planet do manage to read subtitles and enjoy movies.

Yes, including me right here in America. The point isn't "enjoyable" vs "not". It's "enjoyable" vs "less enjoyable", and I think it's hard not to see how all else being equal (which of course as I said it's not), not having subtitles would be preferable most of the time.

Are Americans stupider than those of other nationalities? Lazier? I don't want to believe that. So what's the explanation?

Less willing to put up with the minor inconvenience, and yes, extra work, when they feel they should be able to get movies that are in their native language?

Call it entitlement, call it laziness, I'm not sure I can precisely define it, but yes that's the general contour. Americans see two movies at the theater, one subtitled and one not, and many of them go "meh, I didn't come to the movies to read, I'll see the one that's in English".

It's pretty sad, in any case.

I honestly don't get why subtitles are such a turn off for some Americans. My own mother was ambivalent about seeing Inglorious Basterds when she found out it was mostly subtitled. I can understand if you have some kind of optical issue. I myself find subtitles unbearable on big screens due to eye problems, as I end up squinting to read and then getting headaches, which is the opposite of a fun and enjoyable experience. But I doubt everyone else has a similar issue.

Sometimes, sub titles are hilarious when in butchered
English.Huh? Hmmm (didn't make a lick of sense) ... guess the translator was the producer's nephew?

Dude, Chris, the original title of the movie is "Men Who Hate Women". It's actually about misogyny. You can't switch it around. That's like saying, "what would you think about To Kill a Mockingbird if the races were reversed?"

I didn't really dig the book's style too much, but the movie sound very exciting. Yay Netflix Instant Queue!

SPOILERS

Mary Ann,

I was more thinking along the lines would you have been ok with a man becoming the judge, jury and executioner/sentencer of women who had harmed him in his life or had harmed the lives of other men.

@ Jester--

Don't forget what you're reading is translated from the Swedish...i imagine that makes at least some difference. THe problem i had w/ the first novel (and what i've read of the second book so far) is the meandering plot and how everything not Lisbeth-related is a slog to get thru. Can't wait to see the movie, though.

I was wondering when you were going to review this one.

I know the books are beloved but they are pure pulp fiction, and nobody reads old pulp fiction. In a generation, these books will be as forgotten as Valley of the Dolls or The Godfather.

They will live on only as long as the memories of the films that they inspired. The Godfather, oh yes. Valley, not so much.

This was an atmospheric, well done film. The second in the installment, Girl Who Played with Fire, is good too although a different feel to it (and director). But of course as a foreign film it won't live in many American memories.

And yes, while Blomkvist isn't a bad character, the trilogy lives and dies with Lisbeth. The books would have sold about 27 copies without her.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is an excellent film, as is The Girl Who Played With Fire. Noomi Rapace is spellbinding as the troubled genius/hacker/vigilante, Lisbeth Salander. Her quiet, seething intensity,and body language capture the eye and don't let go. Rapace is also beautiful.
Salander is one of the most intriguing characters in recent fiction. In theatres or in online reviews of the films (and novels), she strikes a chord in a wide variety of people. Stieg Larsson did not live to see the phenomenal success of his creations,and all three books are blemished by a lack of revision/editing. But Lisbeth Salander is unforgettable whether on the page or the screen.

The one thing which confuses me is this: IS ANYONE AWARE THAT AMERICAN FILMS ARE FREQUENTLY DUBBED WHEN VIEWED ABROAD? In Germany,for example,all foreign films are dubbed instead of subtitled. Is anyone going to call people of Germany lazy,illiterate, or uncultured?

Interesting film. I expect it'll find a broader audience on DVD than most people would anticipate. The fact that it's dubbed will bring it into a lot of homes as a rental at the very least. My only question is whether or not the mystery will be enough to propel people beyond the violence and towards the final revelation.

As far as subtitles go? They can certainly detract from a film-going experience. The only reason Pan's Labyrinth was fully enjoyable as a subtitled film was because the dialogue was so measured. I take it on a movie to movie basis. I've Loved You So Long loses nothing when read. Martyr's had an amazing dub and most of the performances lost nothing in the leap to English. CJ7 loses a ton of wit and sincerity from the subs to the dub. As do most of Stephen Chow's films. But America's general distaste for subtitled movies? Movies have become so reliant on visual spectacle in the US that asking Joe Blow to read a film is almost on par with asking a deaf person to listen to books on tape. That's not a slight on Joe Blow by any means. It's just a matter of conditioning.