Jose here to talk about a movie and performance that The Film Experience hasn't spent much time with.
A little over eighteen months ago, I - like many of you I'm sure - found myself completely revolted by the fact that Hollywood had decided to remake The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo a few months after the Swedish version had come out in our continent. Some people adamantly took sides with the "original" before the "remake" arrived. And not so surprisingly, almost every review of Fincher's version compares it to the one directed by Niels Arden Oplev.
These comparisons brought the two actresses who played Lisbeth Salander to the center of the discussion, with people debating who was better and why, pitting them against each other. I've even heard some say that AMPAS should be embarrassed for nominating Rooney Mara for the Best Actress Oscar when they denied Noomi Rapace of a nomination a year ago.
The truth is that Rooney and Noomi play very different versions of the same character. You want proof? Continue reading, but be warned, this article contains spoilers.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo movies were based on Stieg Larsson's best-selling novel, with each version extracting just what they needed from the book. The Swedish version remains faithful to the spirit of Larsson's original title (Men Who Hate Women) turning its Lisbeth into an exterminating angel sent to the world to destroy men. David Fincher's take (adapted by Steven Zaillian) focuses instead on trying to get to the essence of Lisbeth, hacking its way into her misanthropic programming.
The one thing both movies have in common besides the plot is the fact that they tapped into what Larsson discovered while writing the novel: that Lisbeth Salander is a character that cannot be contained by the willpower of her creators. She always finds a way to get away from them and remain an enigma.
Now let's take a look at a few key moments in both films to analyze how Noomi and Rooney channel different aspects of the same woman.
Meeting Lisbeth
From our first meeting with Lisbeth Salander it becomes clear that each film is after different things: Fincher introduces us to Salander as a young woman who doesn't even want to look at people; Oplev has her defying authority from the get-go. Notice how the costume designers give Rapace spikes and aggressive makeup (she wants to scare them!) while Mara's most eye-catching trait is her hair. Not too surprisingly the first time we meet both Lisbeths we see them from behind, with Mara completely embracing the book's androgynous quality (they mention people were never sure if she was a woman or a pre-pubescent boy) while Rapace owns the goth chic.
Abuse and revenge
In one of the films' most disturbing scenes, Lisbeth is forced to perform oral sex on her creepy guardian. Fincher's new version shrinks Lisbeth in comparison to the man who ultimately overpowers her with a high camera angle. Mara's reaction makes us squirm, especially because a few scenes earlier we see her finding her former guardian a stroke. The American version humanizes Lisbeth by offering her shades of vulnerability. Conversely Rapace's Lisbeth takes the same abuse with more contempt than fear. We know by her defiant look that she will not let this go without seeking revenge.
Post Coital Salander
When Lisbeth finally opens up to Mikael Blomkvist (even if they've already had sex) she does so only after she feels they have bonded through tragedy. It's only after Blomkvist was close to dying that Lisbeth feels he might finally understand her. Both films show them lying in bed together. Fincher's cuts to each lover capturing their individual reactions (in a very Manhattan fashion) and we see Mara for the first time achieve something that resembles happiness. In a matter of seconds she changes from a tough young woman to an innocent child, confessing something only because she knows she won't be grounded for it. In the Swedish version Rapace approaches this scene with a more mature outlook, she also confesses but throughout she's aware that Blomkvist owes her for saving him. She finally feels his equal, and perhaps more than that she feels pity for him.
Lisbeth Recreating Herself
The final moments provide us with different aspects of Salander in part because the order was inverted from the Swedish to the American versions. These last scenes mark the biggest differences in the actress's work. In the Noomi version, Lisbeth realizes she'll never be a part of Blomkvist's world and decides to carve out her own destiny. She goes rogue, takes on a new identity and transfers a corrupt billionaire's funds to her own account. The last time we see her she has a smile of pride and she sends you off thinking "now this is one kick-ass lady!". The way the camera frames her evokes what Billy Wilder did with Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity and announces her as a femme fatale for our times. In the Rooney version, Lisbeth does all the bank transactions in order to impress Blomkvist. She is sure that this will help her gain his admiration.
The Swedish version (only the mini-series though, not the theatrical release) shows Lisbeth's heart being broken as she sees the man she wants leave with another woman. The next scene (the one discussed above) seems to cancel this feeling since Noomi is quick to recover. She's too strong to let disillusionment get to her. The American version turns this realization into a paradigm-shattering finale. Mara's reaction in this scene (made the more moving by the use of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' impeccable score) is an example of how to exteriorize pain using the least amount of effort. Lisbeth doesn't even know how to process this and chooses to revert to her previous state. All along Fincher's film and Rooney's performance have been uncovering Lisbeth's heart, in order to have it broken in the end.
Saying that Lisbeth Salander should've only be played by one actress robs us of the pleasure of watching two actresses at the top of their games. It reminds me a bit about Laurence Olivier's insistence that all actors should be judged by having them play Hamlet. It's difficult nowadays to avoid pitching cultural events or characters against each other. We have become accustomed to the idea that competition is all. Hopefully this will serve as a way to help analyze both movies for what they are, isolated pieces of art, and not insist that one is a "remake" and the other an "original". Lisbeth herself might be fascinated to see different directors and actors trying to decipher who she really is.
You can read more of Jose's work at his blog Movies Kick Ass or follow Jose on Twitter.