I've waffled on whether or not to give the trailer to David Fincher's adaptation of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo the yes, no, maybe so treatment. The teaser was an explosive example of what film advertising can be when it escapes its rigid little box. That rush of images and punk spirit promising the 'Feel. Bad. Movie. Of. Christmas.' just Felt.Good. in an A+ way. But did you ever see it in a theater? I did a couple of times and felt nothing from the audience (you know how you can sometimes absorb the collective excitement levels when a teaser/trailer is playing or at least the second it ends?) so maybe Moviegoers and Hollywood need the rigid little box of 2 and ½ minute plot and character intros as security blanket and insurance policy respectively.
So now they give us the normal kind of trailer introducing us to the plot and characters that 75 million are intimately familiar with already. Meet anti-social, abused, violent, brilliant Lisbeth Salander, now played by Rooney Mara with sick earrings, mad multiple hairstylings and a wondrous lack of comforting eyebrows.
the breakdown plus the new trailer after the jump.
So here we go...
YES
- Zodiac (2007): That should give anyway faith in Fincher's directorial skill. He can even make the minutae of unsolved procedurals super riveting... which is quite an abnormal talent.
- Rooney Mara: Her big eyes, quick tongue, and accessible prettiness, all so engaging in the short time The Social Network made use of them are now robbed of that new familiarity. It's just a trailer but I love the battle between unintentional unguarded flashes of emotion and the masked indifference we're seeing from her purposefully off-putting ghostly visage, shorn of comforting eyebrows and prettifying makeup. I'm not saying she'll be competing for Best Actress -- who the hell knows -- but aren't you eager to see how she handles this already famous role?
- David Fincher + filmmaking team: Everyone is on board again and what a team he gathers, inspires and reuses. See also: The Social Network, Panic Room, Fight Club, Se7en, etcetera.
- Fine Cast: Daniel Craig, Robin Wright, Stellan Skarsgård, Christopher Plummer, etcetera
- Deadpan Humor: a surprise.
Sometimes he pleasures her. Not enough in my opinion."
NO
- The Accents: I don't want to make too big a point of it but I'm not sure I understand. They all sound like they're in the same movie (a comfort) but I'm not sure that movie is taking place in Sweden (a puzzler).
- No Hook: There's something a little rote and flat about this with no big payoff at the end... or is it just hangover longing for the sick punch of that teaser?
I shouldn't keep beating that drum but it was so seismic.
MAYBE SO
- Trilogy: It seems foolish to remind audiences that you're adapting a bestselling trilogy... when there's no reassurance you'd make the other two. Why not just say "bestseller"?
- Otherwise I got nothing. It's Fincher so you know it's at least going to be super competent and stylishly delivered.
- Promising Moment Or More of Same: "I want you to help me capture a killer of women." The book, originally titled Men Who Hate Women, spawned a franchise of literary and cinematic proportions that has the same problem as many violent thrillers. It's fetishistic fascination with the detailed brutalization, rape and murders of women can often appear hypocritically misogynistic. Hopefully Fincher can steer around this problem somehow.
The Trailer in Question
Where do you fall with this one now that you've seen more footage? Do you see any Oscar play ahead?