The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo: Swedish vs American Films, Pt. 2

THERE WILL BE HEAVY SPOILERS FOR THE FILMS HERE, SO IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIES OR READ THE BOOKS, BEWARE

Daniel Craig (right) and Michael Nyqvist (left) as Mikael Blomkvist

And here we go with part two of this.  This one is going to be a bit shorter than the last, as there's less differences in the back half of the movie.

First off, there's not enough time given to build Lisbeth and Mikael's relationship in the original version.  The new one waited until after Mikael had been shot for them to go to bed together, when he was in a vulnerable position.  Another note here is that the sex scenes show again that Noomi isn't physically right for the role.  She's much too muscular for it, and that shows even more when she has her top off.

I do enjoy the original, more active Inspector Morell.  The actor who plays him in the new one is also good, but isn't given a whole lot to do.  Him still being on the police force, and involved with Mikael's investigation is kind of fun.  Points to the Swedish version for it.

The scene with Harald Vanger in the original is much different than the scene in the American version, but I think both work just as well.  The original is intense, and shows that Harald is still a crazy nazi through and through, while the new one paints him as a much more down to earth character, while still being kind of a scumbag.  But an honest scumbag.

I prefer Mikael and Lisbeth concurrently figuring out that Martin Vanger is a serial killer following in his fathers footsteps in the American version more than Lisbeth figuring it out and Mikael being caught with his pants down in the original.  The American film shows him as being more competent, while he comes off as kind of a dope in the original due to this.

Martin's kill room in the new one is a more interesting set, visually, but the original seems more real, like an actual room converted for this purpose as opposed to a room built specifically for it.  The scene that plays out there is better in the American film though, thanks to the performances of Craig, who seems bewildered and in shock, Skaragard, who seems more affable although evil, and better writing for the dialogue all around.  Lisbeth's rescue via hitting Martin upside the head with a golf club is also done better in the new one, where it's a single shot that visible breaks and dislocates Martin's jaw, as opposed to several, weaker looking shots in the original.  It's also missing the great "May I kill him?" line from her directed at Mikael before she gives chase.

The car chase is better in the American film, but the outcome is better in the Swedish one.  Martin and Lisbeth coming face to face as he lays in his wrecked truck, begging for help, as she has flashbacks to burning her father alive in his car when she was 12 works very well.  The shrieks as the truck catches fire, and Martin burns alive are also a nice touch.

Anita being dead in the original, and her death being something that is common knowledge, isn't as good as the American version where Harriet has in fact come face to face with Mikael while posing as Anita.  It's a nice set up and pay off that works really well, and is missing in the original.

The new film also goes more in depth on how exactly Lisbeth stole the millions of dollars from Wennerstrom in the epilogue sequence.  This is much better than her showing up in the very last scene, now blonde for some reason or another, that the original does.

In conclusion, the Swedish version is not a bad film by any means, but it is missing certain things that the American version does have.  The American version also does more things better than the Swedish version than it does worse.  The original is certainly worth watching, and I'm looking forward to watching the two sequels that are included in the set I bought in the coming days, but I'm also hopeful that David Fincher and Co. will get to do American version of the last two books as well.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo: Swedish vs American Films, Pt. 1

THERE WILL BE HEAVY SPOILERS FOR THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO WITHIN, READER BEWARE.

Over Christmas I got some money, and having just seen, and enjoyed, the American version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, I decided to order the original, uncut Swedish trilogy on blu ray.  Today those films arrived, and I have just finished watching Part 1 of the original TGWTDT.  I've seen a lot of people saying that the original is superior to the American version, but after watching this first hour and a half, I already have to disagree with that sentiment.  The original is good, but the American version (which you will notice I am not calling a remake, as it's not, it's simply a new adaptation of the book) seems to not only be a better film, but from what I have read of the book so far, a better adaptation as well.  In the service of transparency, I will say that I have not read the entire book yet, and am only about a third of the way through, so  I can only make that last assumption based on what I have read.

To start, let's talk about the titular character, Lisbeth Salander.  Physically, Rooney Mara in the American version has a much better screen presence, and matches the look of the character as described in the book much more than Noomi Rapace does in the original.  Noomi isn't thin enough, and doesn't look nearly as psychologically fucked up as Rooney does.

Rooney Mara (left) and Noomi Rapace (right) in the role of Lisbeth.

Rooney also plays the role with a more vulnerable side, just underneath the hard, calloused surface that she projects with her appearance and attitude.  A good example of this is when her first legal guardian, Palmgren, suffers a stroke, causing her to be put into the care of a different, less scrupulous man.  In the original version, she only finds out about his stroke via a phone call, and is then angry about it, going to his hospital room and yelling for him to "go ahead and die."  In the American version she finds him herself, while bringing him a Christmas present during one of their regular chess matches, and seems devastated by it.  This glimpse into a more human side of her is incredibly important for making her relatable, and the original misses it completely.  Instead of being a broken, hurt person who does want to have human contact, she seems like...well, a cold hearted bitch.

She is of course put into the care of Bjurman, her second guardian, after this stroke, and this is another point of divergence between the two.  I have to say I like the way that the actor in the original plays the role more than the actor in the American version.  He's much more aggressively evil and sleazy.  The first scene of him taking advantage of Lisbeth is better in the American version.  Both are effective, but the sound design is superior, with the wet, choking sounds during the forced oral sex.  The main rape scene is also effective in both, but once again superior in the American version.  The detached, defeated silence that falls over Lisbeth by the end of the scene is better than the animalistic screams that occur throughout in the Swedish version.  The comment made by Bjurman as he puts on the condom in the American version ("I forgot to ask...do you like anal sex?") sells what is happening to her much better than his Swedish counterparts comment about teaching her the rules.

The post-rape reactions of Lisbeth are also better in the American version.  Both films have her limping away, but the American one adds in a brief scene of her taking her check from Bjurman, and him asking her if she needs a ride home.  That little touch, showing that he doesn't really even consider what he just did as being wrong, and is treating her like he would anyone else, sells how horrible of a person he is.  The American film also adds in a shower scene, with blood running down her leg, which helps further sell the trauma that she's just experienced.

The revenge taken upon him is done better in the American film as well.  The outfit with the dark make up on her eyes, almost resembling a domino mask, as she ties him up and shows him the video she had taken of the entire thing, her speech about being insane, and the intensity of her actions are all sold much better.  The Swedish version also shows her watching the tape herself immediately after the rape occurs, which takes away some of the punch of her revealing that she had a camera in her bag, and showing him the footage.

One last note about Lisbeth in this section of the film.  There is a scene where she is mugged and has her lap top broken.  In the American version it is a simple thief who grabs her bag and makes off with it, causing her to give chase, and the lap top is broken during the scuffle.  In the Swedish version she bumps into a group of men in the subway, who then accost her, causing her bag to be thrown into a wall and she only escapes with minor injuries thanks to fending them off with a broken bottle.  The Swedish version is better in this case, as it adds to the overall theme of violence towards women.  This is one of many reasons why I think that the original Swedish title should have been kept for all printings of the book and the films. Men Who Hate Women is what this is all about, in almost every way.

Now let's talk about Mikael Blomkqvist, and in relation to him, the role of Millennium Magazine in the film.  From what I understand, the role of both Millennium and his court case against Hans Erik Wennerstrom was much larger in the book.  The American film cut it down to almost book ends, with it also being a part of his motivation to take on the Vanger case in the first place.  The Swedish version has more of it, but from what I have read, it's different than the book, and is relegated to being a B plot line, which doesn't really add much to the film when the scenes are inserted.  They both made a smart move in cutting it down from the book, but the Swedish version didn't go far enough in what it cut.  The issues between Mikael and Erika, his business partner and lover, are also done better in the American version, being elaborated upon but not to the point of slowing down the movie.  I will say that the physical side of their relationship is more effective in the Swedish version though.

Speaking of Mikael's personal life, I am torn about the complete removal of his daughter in the Swedish version.  She is almost a non-character in the American version as well, but the few conversations that she and Mikael have about religion, and how he feels like he hasn't been a great father to her, give a bit more insight into Mikael.  She also solves an important piece of the case, thanks to her knowledge of the bible, which is relegated to Lisbeth in the Swedish version, which seems out of character for an almost nihilistic punk rock girl.

In the book, Mikael was in fact on the island as a child, as he was in the Swedish version of the film, but no mention of this is made in the American version.  I have to agree with the American versions decision to cut it, rather than the Swedish versions decision to expand on it. In the book, he was only 2 when he was there, and had no recollection of it.  In the Swedish film he has vivid memories of both being on the island, and being baby sat by Harriet Vanger, the girl who's disappearance is the subject of his current investigation.  It seems to me that this was done to make the case more personal to him, but it is unnecessary.

The Vanger family was also drastically reduced in size in the American film, which I feel is a good idea.  It keeps Mikael's board with all their pictures and personal information on it cleaner, and easier for the audience to read.  It also cuts out a lot of unneeded family history that isn't really relevant to the story.  The way that the family is gone over for the first time in the Swedish version if done much more artfully though, shown through Mikael's own investigations instead of just an exposition dump from Henrik Vanger when Mikael is hired.

As a final note about part one of this, I will say that the original takes too long in getting Mikael and Lisbeth working together, and it's not done as well as the American version.  Mikael tracking her via her employer, and being able to see his reaction to the report she prepared on him is much better than Vanger's lawyer mentioning her to him, and then him going straight to her apartment.  And this doesn't happen until halfway through the movie, which is 3 hours long.  So for the first hour and a half the two main characters have not even met.  It takes a while in the American version as well, but not half of the movie.

When I finish watching Part 2 of the original (I wonder why they split it up like that for the blu rays, when the whole movie is on a single disc anyway?) I'll make another post like this and wrap it up, if there are many other differences that are either better or worse.