Since the boyman has been hunkered down in his hole working on his thesis, the two of us haven’t been to many (any) movies recently. So now that he’s all good and gradumacated (pause for applause), we’re going hog wild!!
Basically, we struck a deal. I love women kicking ass and taking names, and Brian loves history and war where men are kicking ass and taking names. This means we went to go see Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and War Horse.
SPOILER ALERT! I reference a few details of these movies, but I don’t spoil any endings. Hopefully you’ve either already seen these movies cuz you’re superfly, or you don’t care about them being minorly spoiled because, hey, it’s better than getting your toes gnawed off by a rabid clown.
TRIGGER ALERT as I reference events of sexual violence.
Both of these movies are about wild, spirited creatures who are being controlled by others more privileged than they are. Both of these movies involve intense violence, perseverance, devotion, and justice. It’s very possible that this is where the similarities end, although if I was in a pinch I could probably drag this on for a few more paragraphs.
Have you ever wanted to watch a movie so moving, so beautifully stunning, so captivating, but still have that constant reminder that you’re in a movie theater surrounded by cranky old people??! Then see War Horse!
I don’t understand why older folks feel it’s ok to talk through movies while at the theater. Do they even realize they are doing it? Do they realize it and not give a fuck? It was all I could do not to turn around and ironically ask them if their parents had ever taught them any manners.
Not only did these cranky-pants folks comment throughout the movie, the things they said were in no way contributing to the richness of the entertainment (although, now that I think about it, unless you’re at Rocky Horror, commenting at the screen will in no way improve the experience). The asinine comments can be placed neatly into 3 categories. Some examples:
1. My personal life and hopes and dreams should be heard by everyone
“My arm hurts…it’s been hurting me all day.”
If you keep talking, more than just your arm will hurt, sister.
“This movie has been everything I had hoped for.”
That’s nice, lady. I had hoped for a movie free of bitching and moaning, but I guess we can’t both have what we want now can we?
2. Captain Obvious to the rescue!
“Whoa, there’s the horse!”
“Ooh, he’ll be competition!”
“Oh look, they’re in love!”
Let’s see if I understand. Either you don’t quite get what’s going on and you’re attempting to confirm your current comprehension level by indirectly asking for input from your fellow moviegoers, or you very much do understand and you are selflessly translating the difficult content so that those around you can catch up. Either that or you have no filter and can’t keep your trap shut. Not sure, though.
3. Maybe if I yell loud enough, Spielberg will hear me
“No, don’t kill him!”
“He’s not dead, he just needs medicine!”
Ok, so that last one was from Lord of the Rings, but still, I admire your sentiment and I actually agree with you that the horse still had more life left in him, but hows about we give the cute horse our moral support in controlled, mature silence?
[Edit: contrary to popular belief, these last two statements do not give away the ending of the movie. It’s the kind of movie where you’re left guessing til the end.]
Bottom line is that if people want to talk during a movie, then STAY THE FUCK HOME and wait for Netflix.
So I guess that was my review for War Horse. I recommend it, especially if you like horses or war. And the story is an Odyssey story, in that it follows the horse through the war and through various owners, places, and predicaments. My only caution is if you have this rare disease where you’ll die from overactive tear ducts, then don’t see it. And also, if you’re like me and you can’t stand to see animals in pain, then there will be one heart-wrenching scene where you’ll have to look away while your body is heaving with sobs. Needless to say, I felt very cleansed and vulnerable in the aftermath. My therapist would be proud.
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Now for Dragon Tattoo.
I read the books, saw the Swedish movies, and now I am licking my chops for the American versions. I am a huge stickler for staying true to books in the movie versions, and any significant deviation from the original plot warrants a strongly worded letter in my book.
I thought Noomi Rapace’s Swedish performance as Lisbeth in the original movies was pretty well done, and I was skeptical that any second attempt could improve on the character, especially when left in the hands of Americans. David Fincher and Rooney Mara did not disappoint! In fact, I thought that Lisbeth was indeed made much more three-dimensional, we could see a few more layers to her, and there was even some time devoted to giving a peek into her traumatic past, tidbits of the story yet to unfold. Yes, Lisbeth sometimes chooses violence, but she does so only when she’s provoked and only when she sees no other option. When we see Lisbeth mugged on the subway, she first hesitates and then runs after the guy and fights only to get her bag back and then runs away. After her escape, we see her heave a sigh of relief and not one of satisfaction.
In my personal opinion, Lisbeth suffers from severe PTSD (post traumatic stress). The books describe her ability to cut herself off from all emotion and often stare back blankly when she chooses not to answer a question (that choice is yet another way she is able to fight back against her imposed narrative of being victimized and having power taken away from her). I feel that this vital piece of Lisbeth’s behavior hasn’t been expressed fully enough in either movie version. The American version did a slightly better job in that Lisbeth avoids eye contact and physical proximity, but the Swedish movies had Lisbeth responding with too many quips, too normal, too wordy, too talkative. I wish some director out there would have the balls to put that gut-wrenching silence up on screen. Let her eyes and that defiant silence do the talking.
I very much preferred Daniel Craig as Blomkvist to the actor in the Swedish version for the same reason as Mara – Craig was more human, more 3D. In this version, Blomkvist was warmer, sweeter and less stoic than in the Swedish version. He was also a bit more passive and humble. His reaction when Lisbeth first comes on to him in her no-nonsense fashion was endearing, with his wide-eyed, stammering, chivalrous concern. And plus, Daniel Craig is an awesome piece of ass to look at. Thank you, casting director!
Another concern going into this movie was how Americans might portray the rape and sex scenes. On one hand, I appreciate Europeans being able to portray sex and sexual violence with more transparency, rawness, and in graphic detail. The books were certainly in graphic detail, and so there’s that part of me that wants the movie versions told as closely to the book as possible. The American scenes were not as graphic as the Swedish ones, and maybe it was because I have already seen the Swedish scenes that I didn’t feel like anything was lacking from the American scenes. The fear and pain and anger were all still there.
In closing, an ode to Lisbeth. I fucking love Lisbeth Salander. She is a tortured soul who doesn’t play the victim. She uses violence only when she doesn’t see any other options, but when she does use violence it’s with awesome warpaint that would scare the shit out of Hitler, let alone pathetic rapist pigs. She’s not a maneater or oppositional-defiant in a negative clinical sense. She’s not empowered by the violence she inflicts, she merely wants to level the playing field that has been tipped against her favor even before she was born. People like me relish watching her take her power back from her abusers in any creative way she can think of, like tattooing their heinous acts on their chests. She does the things that I sometimes wish I could do and she says the things I sometimes wish I could say. She doesn’t abide by gender norms or sexual norms, she does what she wants, when she wants, and basically just asks people to leave her the hell alone. My inner angsty-feminist teenager squeals with pleasure when Lisbeth comes on the screen.
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