BURN BABY BURN: a review of "The Girl Who Played With Fire"

“THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE” Directed by Daniel Alfredson
Based upon the novel by Stieg Larsson
***1/2 (three and a half stars)

I really think that Director David Fincher has his work cut out for him and please forgive me if any aspects of the following review tend to be of a repetitive nature to previously written Savage Cinema content.

A few weeks ago, in my original review of Director Niels Arden Oplev’s Swedish film adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo,” I questioned the validity of the soon to be filmed American remakes, to be directed by David Fincher. During those past few weeks, it has been revealed in the entertainment press that Daniel Craig has indeed signed on to play crusading journalist Mikael Blomkvist (a strong choice) and yet, to date, no one has signed on to portray the antisocial, tormented, bisexual, computer hacker, and avenging angel Lisbeth Salander. Despite Fincher’s coy remarks to the press about his involvement with the two subsequent sequel remakes, the studio has made it more than evident that they desire and expect Fincher’s involvement throughout the full trilogy. As also stated previously, I feel that Fincher is the perfect director to adapt this material for American audiences as the subject matter speeds straight up the middle of his cinematic interests. I am certain that Fincher will be able to create a good movie. In fact, considering his track record, which again, includes no less than “Se7en” (1995), “The Game” (1997), “Fight Club” (1999) and “Zodiac” (2008), he may even be able to make a great movie. But, there is a major obstacle.

I have just returned home from a screening of “The Girl Who Played With Fire,” the series second installment which stars the original cast of the first film and is directed by Daniel Alfredson, taking over helming duties from Oplev. It is an enormously involving, intense, brooding thriller that is equal to the previous installment in quality, and contains central performances that have become so entrenched that the characters and the actors who portray them have become intertwined. So much so, that I am highly doubtful that Fincher will be able to make a film where viewing it is essential.

As with the first installment of the “Millennium Trilogy,” “The Girl Who Played With Fire” features two seemingly disparate storylines that dramatically converge into a fully resonant whole. Picking up exactly 18 months after the events of “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo,” a newly wealthy Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) has returned to Stockholm, after a period of traveling abroad, to tie up the still dangling loose ends, most especially those involving lawyer Nils Bjurman (Peter Andersson), her psychotically abusive guardian/benefactor.

Meanwhile, at the headquarters of the independent political magazine Millennium, journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) and his investigative team are currently producing an expose fingering high ranking political figures involved with a sex trafficking ring. Joining the group is young writer Dag (Hans-Christian Thulin), whose own independent investigations, along with his girlfriend Mia’s (Jennie Silfverhjelm) soon to be published thesis, will greatly assist the group’s ultimate goals.

When Bjurman, Dag and Mia all end up murdered via a gun containing Lisbeth Salander’s fingerprints, she becomes the primary suspect and goes on the run, while she and Blomkvist work feverishly to clear her name. As the tension builds and the paths of Blomkvist and Lisbeth intersect even more tightly, the previously hidden layers of the sex trafficking ring are revealed, including several tragic and surprising links to Lisbeth Salander’s own dark history.

Where Director Niels Arden Oplev presented a barren, wintry landscape effectively depicting a physical and psychological sense of isolation in “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo,” Director Daniel Alfredson has created a film that possesses a tad more visually stylistic heft while not for one moment relinquishing its stranglehold over the story’s disturbing and gripping themes. Alfredson has made a leaner, tighter, faster paced and aside from the explosive climax, a slightly less grisly sequel that also does not skimp over the grim social/sexual themes.

While “The Girl Who Played With Fire,” certainly contains more than its fair share of nods to genre pulp fiction, including the arrival of an impressively hulking blond man who cannot experience pain (played by Mikael Spreitz), what has continued to impress me most in this series is its political agenda and how it relates to the overall humanity of the characters, as well as our own. The institutional crimes against women are deeply interwoven with the lifelong private tragedies of Lisbeth Salander. It is as if the film is not only suggesting that crimes against humanity contribute heavily to our collective societal decay, but also that we are all implicit in these crimes, even when they are seemingly not related to us in any way. If we can see it, then we are in it and it is our responsibility to stand up for those in need, in any way possible. This conceit is exactly what makes the characters of Blomkvist and Lisbeth and their bond so compelling. While we do indeed have Larsson’s source material and Alfredson’s taut direction to thank, major credit must be given to the leading performances of Michael Nyqvist and Noomi Rapace.

Nyqvist is a mass of subtle nods and gestures that draws you into his thought process, his passions and obsessions, this time proving Lisbeth’s innocence. He is the embodiment of still water running extremely deeply and what drives his performance so well is Nyqvist’s overarching sense of compassion and justice. He is completely unable to turn a blind eye and his level of loyalty towards Lisbeth is palpable and emotionally effective.

The lithe, moody and intense Noomi Rapace continues to greatly impress and haunt. Again, while she has little dialogue, her eyes, facial expressions and her physical performance say everything in such an effective way, it would make mere words superfluous. This character just fascinates me so strongly especially when it comes to the actual choices she makes as she journeys through the world. Lisbeth Salander has been irrevocably damaged and her level of vengeance and retribution is near operatic but her actual spirit is decidedly not broken and choice by painful choice, her humanity remains. While her walls are righteously, rightfully and unshakably in place, she still has the capability to trust, to care, to concern, to have personal regrets and in rare cases, to love. Without going into any details for the uninitiated, I cannot help but to be anxiously intrigued as to what happens to her in the next installment, considering her status by the conclusion of this film. But, for this film, Rapace impresses immensely and I just cannot think of anyone else who could potentially embody this role in the way that she has.

It is amazing to me that Nyqvist and Rapace share only one scene together in the entire film yet their connection throughout “The Girl Who Played With Fire” is undeniable, deeply felt and entirely drives this story. Their chemistry is the proverbial “lightning in a bottle” that again makes me wonder in the new American remakes are just a mistake waiting to happen as this is the sort of relationship that cannot be easily replicated.

In a strange way, this film series and its upcoming American remakes are reminding me of my relationship with “The Office,” most specifically the American television remake of the massively brilliant and influential British original. I have to admit that despite the nearly seven seasons on air and the critical acclaim, I have only seen the American version less than a handful of times. While it is a well performed, written and produced television program with a gifted cast in tow, I just cannot negate the experience I had while watching the original British version created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. I watch the characters of office manager Michael Scott and his underlings Jim, Pam and the rest scurry around and run through their wryly comic experiences feeling that the entire experience, no matter how good it actually is, is nothing but a pale knock off to the high standards set by Gervais and Merchant. In some cases, the British know exactly when to call it quits as Americans will run anything successful long after it has been pummeled into the ground. Case in point with “The Office,” the original British version ran for only 12 episodes and capped itself off with a holiday themed conclusion. It was a definitive experience. The American version, seven seasons into its run, is currently facing the departure of series star Steve Carrell and speculation is running rampant as to who could possibly replace him. It seems as if the American version will run past its sell date, seemingly endlessly, and regardless of any sort of creative peaks it may reach and eventually leave behind.

Certainly Hollywood would want to have as big a piece of the cash cow that Stieg Larsson’s novels have created for so many others but if money is their primary reason for making new versions of already filmed and excellent material that is currently forging strong relationships with audiences, then why bother?

Perhaps David Fincher’s mountains to climb with his new versions have even more to worry about than being unessential films. Of course, I will save any final judgments until his version is released in December 2012. But “The Girl Who Played With Fire” is so strong and the performances of Michael Nyqvist and especially Noomi Rapace are so complete and pure, that these upcoming remakes are rapidly appearing to be irrelevant.