I saw the original Swedish version of this film first. Most of the action takes place in Sweden so it was natural to hear the dialogue in Swedish and not hard to follow the subtitles. It’s a convoluted plot with many different characters (and just as many clammy, sly suspects for the murder in question).
The acting was fluid, and the mysteries unfolded nicely, even with the language barrier.
I especially enjoyed the female lead. She’s a really hard boiled dame with a rough past and an even more difficult time in this film. It didn’t even bother me that she was lesbian because her tragic plight in life excuses any such untoward behavior.
Eventually she gets into bed with the male lead, an older man who makes no demands upon her and never judges. Although the ending is open, you’re left with the impression that the girl with the dragon tattoo has come to grips with her sexuality and is more comfortable with being heterosexual.
Not long after I rented this film I found out there was another version of this same film, in English, starring Daniel Craig (alias 007). I was thrilled!
I was disappointed. The girl in Hollywood’s incarnation was a bitter, caustic lesbian with no soft edges and a deep, impenetrable darkness.
It’s as if the Hollywood remake was determined to obliterate any incarnation of the Swedish film and its sublime message that some lesbians just never had a chance with their sexuality and, given half a chance, will ease into their heterosexual skin and find a new lease on life.
I’ve always been offended by the overt and covert ways that Hollywood forces homosexuality on helpless viewers, watching their productions in dark rooms with nothing to grab onto.
Not just in Hollywood’s character selection on the silver screen, or in archetypal male/female leads “coming out” and making you realize they’re faking every kiss and nuance with the opposite sex (Rock Hudson, Johnny Depp’s effeminate pirate). Or even in the feminizing of men in advertising.
After all, the Rogaine crowd is a huge marketing target across the board, not to mention homosexuals themselves, with their enormous disposable income. I get it. My problem is that you know when ladie’s products are being advertised and you can turn down your awareness. They always try to trick you with the gay twists.
Be that as it may, the Daniel Craig film was jarring in its harsh depiction of the lesbian lead and ruthlessly insistent that you accept her as she is and perish any thought you might have that there’s any hope for her sexual salvation.
I somehow expected better of 007 who, in his own chivalrous way, has far more respect for women that this film.
