THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE
We’ve all been swamped by the juggernaut of the Stieg Larsson, Millenium series, although I will admit here that I have not read the books. I was captivated by the adaptation of the first book, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, not so much because of the who-dun-it plot which I thought, as dramatized, to be fairly predictable and even a bit boring in a silently, frigid Swedish way, but because of Lisbeth Salander. She is the reason these stories are such a hit, there is no character like her in contemporary crime fiction, and certainly not in films. Hear me (although he won’t) David Fincher, it’s all about the girl, not the guy.
I’m yelling at Fincher because I understand Hollywood is already planning it’s versions of these films which will surely be as blockbuster as Twilight, or the Batman franchise. At least they’re counting on it. Problem is they’ve already booked Daniel Craig to take on the Mikael Blomkvist character, and I just heard Carey Mulligan (An Education) will be Lisbeth. If anyone can put up a scene stealing fight, I know she can do it, but I fear the balance will be shifted away from the character that makes me, and I think everyone else love this series. We’ll see.
In any case, The Girl Who Played With Fire, is without question, an enormous improvement on the first film. This time out, Lisbeth has been framed for 3 murders and must work to unravel the mystery behind the actual killer(s), while under cover. The film opens with her in a luxurious vacation spot from which she moves to a luxurious Stockholm condominium. As she’s setting up house she learns she is wanted, and of course, since no one knows of her location, including Mikael, she is not immediately apprehended.
As in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Mikael seems to be a step behind Lisbeth, with the authorities about 10 steps behind him. Of course crime fiction depends on the lone figure or duo in this case, being smarter or at least more able than the authorities. Even in cases like, Prime Suspect, where the detective is the heroine, she’s working as an outsider, against the inflexible system that is hamstrung by it’s unwillingness to look outside the box.
Lisbeth belongs in the pantheon of great female detective, problem solvers, from Harriet Vane, to Jane Tennyson to Wonder Woman. She has been called a contemporary Pippi Longstocking, and compared to the 11 year old comic book and film wonder, Hit Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz) of this year’s Kick Ass. Noomi Rapace, with her hair slightly longer this time, but still primarily outfitted as a tiny bundle of butch, reminded me of Natalie Portman in The Professional if she hadn’t been so well cared for by Jean Reno.
I’ll just say I’m praying that Fincher who does specialize in a certain type of darkness, preserves the balance of power in the American versions, and isn’t afraid to give us a female heroine who is as unflinchingly unsentimental, intelligent, coldly violent and indestructible as Ms. Rapace continues to give us.
The Girl Who Played With Fire opens in New York on July 2 and Los Angeles on July 9, 2010.
Directed by Daniel Alfredson; written by Jonas Frykberg, based on the book by Stieg Larsson; produced by Søren Stærmose; cinematography by Peter Mokrosinski; edited by Mattias Morheden; music by Jacob Groth. Released by Music Box Films. Running time: 129 minutes.
With: Noomi Rapace (Lisbeth Salander); Michael Nyqvist (Mikael Blomkvist); Annika Hallin (Annika Giannini); Per Oscarsson (Holger Palmgren); Lena Endre (Erika Berger); Peter Andersson (Nils Bjurman); Jacob Ericksson (Christer Malm); Sofia Ledarp (Malin Eriksson); Yasmine Garbi (Miriam Wu); Johan Kylén (Jan Bublanski); Tanja Lorentzon (Sonja Modig); and Paolo Roberto (Paolo Roberto.)
