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Entertainment Blog
Most recent posting below. See other blog postings in the column to the right.
Details Matter - Dragon Tattoo
Details Matter – The Dragon Tattoo
If there were an Oscar for Attention to Detail, I’d give it to David Fincher this year. Perhaps there IS such an Oscar – editing, art direction, soundtrack, cinematography, screenplay, and yes, acting all rely on a certain level of detail, especially in as complex a movie to convey on screen as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
Director Fincher had his hands full from the get-go, trying to remake a movie that had been well received despite subtitles (I have not seen the original Swedish version but have heard good things) based on a hugely popular book that could have taken two or three movies to make, given the multiple plot lines.
The opening video is a masterpiece of music video production in and of itself… not surprising in that Fincher had his start in video. It also sets the tone of sex and violence for the movie in the same way that early 007 flicks succeeded – Goldfinger comes to mind.
Other details that stand out: the soundtrack for each character differs, with Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara, an Oscar contender I hope) in the lead with heavy metal; the scenery and architecture are characters in and of themselves, with pale whites and grays shivering in the bleak Nordic countryside; and main actors are tied closely to the book. Daniel Craig’s wiry Mikael Blomkvist fidgets with his glasses half hanging from his face throughout the movie, and Rooney Mara never makes eye contact unless it is really important.
The movie’s editing is also critical to its success – The New York Times magazine recently featured a marvelous breakdown of scene by scene early in the movie to show how Fincher used photos, sound and editing to convey what had to be left unsaid by the characters given the already 2-plus hours of film.
Fincher uses technology and visual cues effectively to tie up loose ends and explain what cannot be detailed in a short time span. Eavesdropping on hacking by Lisbeth provides a whole subplot, and the display of the Vanger family tree by Mikhail gives the viewer a quick Who’s Who to make more sense of the action.
Details are what can bog down a movie, but in Dragon’s case, they make it even better. I pick Tattoo to win at least a few Oscars in the directorial category, if not supporting actor/actress areas.
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