To The Movies: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

When a storyline from a book is turned into a movie, the movie becomes its own text. The basic storyline may be the same, but when changes are made in order to fit the movie within a time limit or to highlight an element or theme that the people involved in the movie feels is important—they make the story their own. I will focus these features on movies made based on books I have read—I want to look beyond whether I think the movie is better or worse than the book. I want to appreciate and review the movie as a companion to the book.
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Genre: Drama, Thriller
Actors: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, and Christopher Plummer
Director: David Fincher
Scriptwriter: Steven Zaillian
Release Date: December 20, 2011
MPAA Rating: R
Movie Info: IMDB | Website
Review of The Millennium Trilogy: Here
Rating: 3 Stars
Purchased ticket.

In A Nutshell:
I loved the books!  I loved the Swedish versions of the movies!  I went to see this movie with some apprehension--how will it compare.  In the end, I am glad I watched it but I have a few concerns about what I saw.

Review:

After seeing this movie poster--I did not have high hopes for this movie.  The image did not necessarily offend me, but I could not see a woman like Lisbeth, who had been so thoroughly victimized by society, actually posing like that.   I have also watched the Swedish version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and I loved it.  Why did we need another version?  I mention these two issues because I feel that they may have affected my feelings about this movie.

There were things I really liked about this movie.  I loved that it was longer--and that with the added length we got to see more of the details from the book.  We got to see more of the process that lead Mikael and Lisbeth to uncover the truth.  It was those details that drew me into the book--and I loved seeing them come to life on the screen.

But there were a few more things that I did not like about the move.  First (and I am warning you now that this one is a spoiler), they changed the ending.  Rather than having Anita Vanger and Harriet Vanger living separate lives in separate countries--they had Harriet taking over Anita's life after her untimely death 20 years earlier.  Why?  I also question how realistic this modification is.  What are the chances that someone in the Vanger family would not have travelled to London in 20 years and in traveling to London would not have looked up their family member who lived there?  I understand that this family was dysfunctional--but the risk seemed a little too high for me considering how easily Mikael found Anita/Harriet in London.

Second (I really don't feel this is a spoiler), the opening sequence with the leading cast members' name listed.  The sequence is very fast and graphically interesting, but it is too fast.  It is hard to determine what the pictures actually depict--and consequently the meaning they are trying to convey.  And without understanding the meaning it felt like a awful lot of time to waste in the course of the story.  This sequence is also situated between the opening clip and the rest of the movie--so the lack of meaning stood out to me quite substantially.  The imagery also did not come up later--so it seemed out of place.

Third (could be considered by some to be a spoiler), I missed having the end tied to the beginning.  In the book--it was such an important moment when Harriet, Henrik and Mikael are looking at the flowers and she explains that she sent them hoping that Henrik would know that she was safe somewhere.  In the movie--their story ends at Harriet and Henrik hugging at the front door.  I missed that imagery and that moment that tied back to the opening sequence--the moment when Henrik decided that he was going to find out what happened to Harriet no matter what.  

I do not regret watching the movie--in fact I will say that I am glad I went to see the movie.  But I liked the Swedish version more and will probably buy that version rather than waiting for this version to come out on DVD.

Recommendations:
It comes in an extended version!! I want it!!

To The Movies: Eat, Pray, Love

When a storyline from a book is turned into a movie, the movie becomes its own text. The basic storyline may be the same, but when changes are made in order to fit the movie within a time limit or to highlight an element or theme that the people involved in the movie feels is important—they make the story their own. I will focus these features on movies made based on books I have read—I want to look beyond whether I think the movie is better or worse than the book. I want to appreciate and review the movie as a companion to the book.
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Genre: Drama, Romance
Actors: Julia Roberts, Javier Bardem, and Richard Jenkins
Director: Ryan Murphy
Scriptwriter: Ryan Murphy and Jennifer Salt
Date DVD Released: November 23, 2010
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Movie Info: IMDB
Order Online: Amazon.com
Rating:2 Stars
Borrowed movie from library.s.

In A Nutshell:
I was really disappointed in this movie. I struggled with the book, but throughout the entire book I saw Elizabeth Gilbert as a strong woman on a quest to reclaim her own life who in the end found a man who loved her for being strong. Watching the movie however, I thought that Elizabeth Gilbert was a woman on a quest to find love and through love she would have a life. How is that better or different from the life she left behind in New York?

Review: (spoilers below)
I held out hope that the movie would address some of the issues I had with the book, namely the unfocused ramblings. In some ways it did, but instead of being an improvement I felt it was a travesty. Instead of keeping with the idea of Elizabeth Gilbert as a strong woman on a search to find herself and love herself--the movie made it look like her entire search was for the guy that would complete her.

I did read the book--I knew that she was going to find Felipe in the end. But over the course of the book I never felt like the search for him was her main purpose. It was a happy accident--and one I was glad happened because I was happy for her. By comparison, the movie focused so much on her loneliness in Italy in comparison to her friends who are in love. Then at the Guru's retreat the movie focuses on her loneliness in comparison to her friend who is getting married (even though it was an arranged marriage and her friend is unsure of whether she will be happy or not). So of course in Bali she has to find love, right?

And I thought it was ironic that her friend at the beginning of the movie commented that when she was in a relationship she took on the look of her partner (in the same way some people start to look like their dogs). You can see a still from that part of the movie here. Then at the end, don't you think she looks like her partner here or here?  Did anything really change?

Recommendations:
I must confess that I am one of the few people in the world who have not seen Coyote Ugly so I think that I am going to go watch that and forget about Eat Pray Love:

To The Movies: Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist

When a storyline from a book is turned into a movie, the movie becomes its own text. The basic storyline may be the same, but when changes are made in order to fit the movie within a time limit or to highlight an element or theme that the people involved in the movie feels is important—they make the story their own. I will focus these features on movies made based on books I have read—I want to look beyond whether I think the movie is better or worse than the book. I want to appreciate and review the movie as a companion to the book.
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Genre: Comedy, Drama, Music, Romance
Actors: Michael Cera, Kat Dennings, and Aaron Yoo
Director: Peter Sollett
Scriptwriter: Lorene Scafaria
Date DVD Released: February 3, 2009
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Movie Info: IMDB
Order Online: Amazon.com
Rating: 2 Stars
Borrowed from library.

In A Nutshell:
I liked this movie.  I could watch it more than one time and be satisfied.  But there was nothing about the movie that overly impressed me and there were a few things that I missed from the book.  Otherwise, it was just a good movie that was easy to watch.

Review:
There were a couple of things that differed from the book that I found disappointing.  First, the character of Tris.  In the book, her story develops.  We get to see that she is not quite as shallow or self-centered as she initially comes off.  In the movie, she never develops that aspect and because of it I felt that she was just a b***h in the movie.  It made the parts with her uneasy to watch.  Second, the music became more of a prop than central to the story.  In the book, the actual songs that Nick and Norah played when they were together matter--it was part of what drew them to each other.  In the book, we saw the iPod, they talked about music throughout, but we did not get to delve into the individual songs.  We had to take their words for it that Nick's playlists and mixes were wonderful--which seemed like an unusual choice for a movie where the playlist is central to the title.  But more than that, I was a little disappointed--after reading the book I wanted to hear the music that Nick and Norah talked about, the music that brought them together. 

One of the key elements of the book that I loved was reading the story from both of their perspectives.  I did miss that aspect in the movie.  There are attempts to bring that to the movie but most of the time the movie seems to be from the perspective of a third person looking in.  So when Norah lets Tal kiss her or when it looks like she will leave with him, as a viewer I was left questioning why.  Even at the end, I am not 100 percent sure of what she is thinking when it comes to Tal.  And I do not remember having so many questions about the relationship between Norah and Tal when I read the book. 

Recommendations:
I could not think of a movie that I would recommend similar to this movie, so I am going to recommend a book that I absolutely adored that was similar to the novel:

To The Movies: Breaking Dawn Part 1

When a storyline from a book is turned into a movie, the movie becomes its own text. The basic storyline may be the same, but when changes are made in order to fit the movie within a time limit or to highlight an element or theme that the people involved in the movie feels is important—they make the story their own. I will focus these features on movies made based on books I have read—I want to look beyond whether I think the movie is better or worse than the book. I want to appreciate and review the movie as a companion to the book.
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Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Drama, Adventure
Actors: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner
Director: Bill Condon
Scriptwriter: Melissa Rosenberg
Date Released: November 18, 2011
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Movie Info: IMDB | Website
Rating: 2 Stars
Purchased ticket.

In A Nutshell:
There is action.  There is romance.  And there are answers to the biggest question I had--how exactly did Edward break the headboard on the honeymoon.  But overall, I felt the movie was lacking in something.  I was not drawn into the story nearly as much as in previous movies.

Review:
I cannot define what exactly was missing, but something was.  Maybe part of the trouble for me was that this part of the story was not the part of the book I liked the most--I personally preferred the book after Bella's transformation so I expect I will like Breaking Dawn Part 2 better.

The wedding scene was beautiful and as over the top as I expected after reading the books.  Alice missed her calling as a wedding planner.  The wedding toasts seemed so cheesy and obnoxious--I just kept thinking would people really say that.  And would Alice have just sit by and let it continue?  I just felt awkward while watching it.  

Breaking Dawn Part 1 is not an easy movie to watch--the changes in Bella's body as the baby grows are startling and a little mortifying--and I gagged a little when Bella started drinking the human blood and said that it tasted good.  The blood on her dried cracked lips--ick!  


I also think that people who have not read the books and have only been watching the movies will have lost a lot because the backstory on the immortal children is not really discussed in the movie.  What they are?  How they were created?  Why they were banned?  How Bella and Edward's daughter is different from them?  I think understanding that will be important to understanding Breaking Dawn Part 2 and the justification for the battle at the end. 


The scene that really struck me though was when Jacob imprinted on the baby.  The look, the pictures that flooded his mind through her eyes, that really stuck with me. 


And then the red eyes that open just before the credits start--I loved those eyes.  But I was also a little heartbroken because it was just getting to the part of the book I really enjoyed and now I know I have to wait to see it. 


Have you seen the movie?  What did you think?