# "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" -- anyone seeing it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 21, 2011, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-anyone-seeing-it/606951 "2011-12-21T15:04:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2012, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-anyone-seeing-it/606951/141 "2012-01-14T04:07:43Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > What you learn about the initial and number combinations in the books is that back in the 60s Sweden had a different phone number system, without going to the book I will sort of wing it. > > Yclues were CJ 34567. At that time, 34567 was a plausible phone number with the 34 being the province, 5 being the town and 67 the individual phone, similar to the US being PEnsylvania 6500 as PEnsylvania district of NY city, and 6500 being the hotels actual phone number [in the US you would dial for your operator and tell her you want to make a call to NY city, PEnnsylvania 6500, and she would contact the NY operator and the NY operator would hook her end of the switching system to NYC, and that operator would hook you to PE6500. Later the system was automated and you just used numbers. Honest, you can wiki it. > > It took someone distanced from that particular numbering system for phones to see it simply as a series of bible chapter/verse references. I would not have made that jump because I am not in the throws of christianity intensification like Mikael’s daughter was. > > And as to walking around naked, different cultures, different habits. Frequently the scandanavian countries [especially Finland] have a sauna tradition that means casual nakedness tends to be ignored. Besides, many people walk around naked in their own house, in front of their lovers. My husband walks around our house naked when the roomie is away, no big deal. I am not as comfortable naked and only tend to do it in the bedroom [except for the times I had previously been to a nudist establishment.] They mentioned in the film that they were phone numbers. And one of the numbers had a person who lived there with those initials. One them was active but no person with those initials lived there and the rest were not valid numbers. So instead of realizing that the “matches” were flukes they didn’t look to any other possible meaning to the numbers. Yes I know Swedes have a different view of casual nudity. But only Lisbeth had that. No other character in the film did it. Only her. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2012, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-anyone-seeing-it/606951/142 "2012-01-15T21:22:10Z")
An interesting [Hollywood Reporter interview](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-rooney-mara-281904) on the making of The Girl With The Dragon Tatoo ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-anyone-seeing-it/606951/143 "2012-01-22T20:45:17Z")
Just a final tally - looks like the film will make money. As per the Hollywood Reporter today: “Dragon Tattoo, directed by David Fincher, grossed $3.8 million for the weekend for a domestic cume of $94.8 million. Overseas, it has now earned $70.8 million for a global total of $165.5 million. Box office observers believe the film could ultimately earn $300 million globally.” ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-anyone-seeing-it/606951/144 "2012-01-23T00:13:20Z")
It’ll break 100 million domestic no problem, especially if it gets a few Oscar nominations on Tuesday morning. I’m not expecting it to get a Best Picture nomination but it could happen. I’m hoping Rooney Mara gets a Best Actress nomination if nothing else, and I’d love to see Trent Reznor’s score recognized. Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay are slight possibilities. We’ll see. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-anyone-seeing-it/606951/145 "2012-01-23T16:56:03Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > I’m hoping Rooney Mara gets a Best Actress nomination if nothing else… Speaking of Rooney Mara - I had no idea she came from a [rather wealthy family](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rooney_Mara) of football owners/managers etc. Not that this makes any difference, but interesting to note she was not the wayward, struggling actress who needed a job to avoid homelessness. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-anyone-seeing-it/606951/146 "2012-01-23T17:17:19Z")
Here’s Cracked’s humorous and slightly cruel [take](http://www.cracked.com/article_19671_the-girl-with-dragon-tattoo-in-under-5-minutes.html) on the movie. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-anyone-seeing-it/606951/147 "2012-01-24T00:36:28Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > Speaking of Rooney Mara - I had no idea she came from a [rather wealthy family](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rooney_Mara) of football owners/managers etc. > Not that this makes any difference, but interesting to note she was not the wayward, struggling actress who needed a job to avoid homelessness. As a diehard Giants fan I am hopelessly in love with both Mara sisters. (Older sister [Kate](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:KateMara08TIFF.jpg).) You undersold the family, by the way. They are (great) grandchildren of the founders of two of the most storied franchises in the NFL. The Maras founded and still co-own the New York Giants, while the Rooneys founded and still own the Pittsburgh Steelers. Thus the name Rooney Mara. Kate was asked in an interview if her costars knew who her family was, and she said not always. If asked about football she just says she’s a Giants fan, but her mom is a Steelers fan. heh. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-anyone-seeing-it/606951/148 "2012-01-25T00:11:29Z")
Saw the movie over the holidays. Went in aware of the book but not much about it. Haven’t seen the Swedish versions. So I wasn’t totally prepared for what went down. I was expecting the uplifting story of the Dragon with the Girl Tattoo. 😉 I enjoyed the movie. Well, not the rape or violence, but the overall story. It was a bit confusing in places, but by the end it had filled in the details enough that I could make sense of it all. I liked the opening sequence. To me, it was a little odd that they essentially had two plot lines to address. One, the one that took the bulk of the movie, was the murder mystery plot. The second was simple enough as an impetus to put Mikal in the circumstance to investigate, but was a bit out of place to go back and address at the end. Almost seems like that could have been a separate movie. They did a reasonable job making it a montage and having it resolve that element, so Lisbet is clear of that situation and free to do whatever she wants next. So that does in some way tie to the overall story. That kind of pacing is not typical of films because you have this dramatic climax, and then the denouemont runs out so long it’s anticlimactic. I don’t think it could have been sequenced differently, though, because it wouldn’t make sense for her to be spending time actively working that separate issue when the pace of events on their murder investigation is going pretty fast. If their investigation was dragging out longer, it could seem reasonable she would find time to do both in parallel, but it didn’t feel like she had time to split her efforts, and needed to concentrate on the missing girl. Ergo, she has to accomplish the whole banking escapade afterwards. > [@diggerwam](#): > > Anyone else disturbed that this type of violent, particularly violence towards women is mainstream entertainment. I could see this being a niche film/book but for the book to be considered a beach read, for the movie to be Xmas release is troubling. I don’t get it. It seems like it will be very disturbing imagery and storyline. Why do so many people want to see it. I suppose I’m just a prude, but I just don’t really see the appeal. The appeal isn’t the violence that occurs, it’s the overall story, the character development, and the way Lisbet retakes control. [quote=“CrazyCatLady, post:17, topic:606951”] > [@Alka\_Seltzer](#): > > The entire rape story line could have been dropped and only improved the movie. I disagree. It is an essential element of the character of Lisbet, and is entangled with the theme of the movie. You think this is the first time she was raped? It’s hinted but not quite stated when she says she set her father on fire, which is what got her committed to the psych ward in the first place and why she’s a 22 year old ward of the state. It’s why she’s so fucked up, part of why her aesthetic is so graphic and extreme. She does that as much to project an appearance of “Don’t fuck with me” as a personal sense of fashion. Plus, after the blowjob, she saw the writing on the wall and used it to her advantage to get the upper hand on the guy. As she said, she underestimated him. But she got revenge in spades. He had the power over her, she had no reputation and no credibility, which is why he expected to be able to get away with it. So she turned it on its head and took all the power away from him, and made him live in fear. > [@well\_he\_s\_back](#): > > I can handle the rape scene in the book but choose not to watch it on screen, especially as it’s been described as graphic. It definitely was uncomfortable to watch. > [@aruvqan](#): > > She didn’t even kill him, she just kept him blackmailed for a year and a few months. Her half brother did the killing. Gah! You put a spoiler for the later stories in with a reveal from this movie! Don’t do that! Or at least give a warning! > [@even\_sven](#): > > To begin with, why the heck does Lisbeth sleep with the author insertion character (I mean, uh, reporter?). The reporter had next to no actual personal characteristics. Who would even bother to sleep with him? It just doesn’t make any sense. This seemed a little out of place. She’s very self-protective, and it just seems to happen. Someone tries to kill him, so she decides he needs sex. 😕 But their sex does not seem unfun or unpleasant, it is totally a shared experience. Maybe she even gets him to give more cunnilingus. 😉 > [@](#): > > A “feminist” movie would have maybe shown her being able to reclaim her sexuality by eventually having positive, fun, emotionally-equal sexual relationships with an enthusiastic partner rather than the fairly tawdry, emotionally disengaged and unsatisfying sex she has. Her relationship with Mikal did seem to be positive, fun, and emotionally-equal with an enthusiastic partner. He just eventually went back to his long term girlfriend, and she learned that even decent men can be jerks. > [@Equipoise](#): > > _laugh_ You’re kidding, right? Are you male or female? The way I see it, even if he weren’t played by Daniel Craig, he’s a good man, one of the few truly good men Lisbeth has ever known (her boss Armansky and her former guardian being the only others), he’s smart and interesting and he wants Lisbeth’s help in helping to catch a killer of women. He needs her and that’s sexy when added to all the other things. Plus, he didn’t force or manipulate the relationship in any way. She chose it. > [@Bob Ducca](#): > > One thing that was slightly annoying was the number of product placements. 7-11, McD’s, Apple, Google, Wikipedia, etc. They fit into the storyline (Lisbeth’s awful diet for one) but after awhile it seemed like overkill. I’m generally pretty oblivious unless they name-check these things. I am used to seeing people owning computers, cars, coffee, etc and using computers going to actual websites that exist that that kind of placement is subtle and invisible to me. Unless they say “Hey, Bob, how do you like my new Ford Focus?” “Wow, great Ford Focus, it really is the best in Texas.” “Yeah, you should get a Ford Focus for yourself.” I don’t usually notice. So what if you can see the computer has an Apple logo? Computers have logos on them. So what if the coffee is from Starbucks, and you can see the logo? Starbucks are everywhere, and they have logos all over them. > [@What\_the](#): > > Saw it last night… I missed how they explained the Anita/Henrietta thing in the movie and read tha book too long ago to remember exactly how it was handled there. In the movie, they explain the girl was smuggled out by her cousin. She used her cousin’s fiance’s last name and the cousin used her own last name, then swapped IDs after reaching England. So there were two identities established for Anita - Anita took one and Henrietta lived under the other. Eventually Anita died before this film occurs. > [@lieu](#): > > Did anyone else think the faded color picture Henrik showed Mikael of the young Harriet looked incredibly like Lisbeth, at least what she would have looked like at that age? Did not observe that. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-anyone-seeing-it/606951/149 "2012-01-25T16:46:32Z")
Forgot to mention… > [@Equipoise](#): > > Excuse me, what makes you think that Lisbeth is “sexually fucked-up” and what makes you think she’s compulsively drawn to “destructive sexual relationships”? I suppose it’s not clear in the remake, but she and Miriam Wu, the woman she picks up at the club, have known each other for years and have a very comfortable casual sexual relationship. Yes, it is not clear in the movie that they have a longstanding comfortable casual relationship. It appears like an abrupt, no emotional attachment hookup. But that certainly makes a little more sense for the part where Mikael shows up at Lisbet’s door to meet, and Miriam offers to stay. I still sort of processed it as “Hey there’s this strange man here, and while you may not know me well, I’m at least an independent third party, and another woman.” It worked okay, but having them actually know each other gives that a slightly different subtext. Also, I did not see any ninja skills in evidence. [spoiler]The first attack by the robber on the subway, yes she wins the scuffle, but it’s very much a scuffle, she wins mostly by sheer rage and not any real ability, and her computer gets broken in the process. No mad ninja skills there. Then when she is attacked by the “gaurdian”, he grabs her and chokes her out pretty easily, she doesn’t get much of a fight in. When she gets her revenge she uses surprise and a taser, not ninja fighting skills. For the climax scene, she sneaks in from behind and clubs the guy in the head with a golf club. Then she chases him down with her motorcycle and causes him to have a car accident. Not really ninja skills there. The sneaking part was acceptable, but a ninja would have been far more effective with that golf club. 😉 [/spoiler] Sure, she’s something of an extraordinary person, but that’s fairly common in books/movies for the hero. Her talent is being very intelligent and having mad computer skills. She’s socially distant because of her fucked up childhood, she’s athletically not particularly special but knows how to ride a motorcycle well. I’d say it’s reasonably balanced for a hero. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2017, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-anyone-seeing-it/606951/150 "2017-06-08T18:58:02Z")
Bumped. Just saw the Fincher movie for a second time, and was impressed all over again. A powerful, scary and stylish film. I’ve read the first book, and have seen all three of the Swedish movies. I prefer this movie to any of the three. It has a better cast - although Rapace was good, I much preferred Mara’s interpretation of the Lisbeth role; Craig is much, much better than the Swedish actor who played Mikael, IMHO; and it’s Christopher Plummer’s best role in many years - to say nothing of significantly better production values and cinematography. The violence is graphic but appropriate to the story. The sunny, washed-out 1966 scenes, the bleak, wintry Swedish landscapes and the undercurrent of dread and danger are a potent mix. The opening credits were overdone, kind of like a CGI Goth music video I thought, but that’s a minor quibble. Looks like we’ll have a sequel (or two), although without either Fincher, Mara or Craig: [The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011 film) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Girl_with_the_Dragon_Tattoo_(2011_film)#Sequel) ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-anyone-seeing-it/606951/151 "2017-06-09T14:04:47Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Bumped. > > Just saw the Fincher movie for a second time, and was impressed all over again. A powerful, scary and stylish film. I’ve read the first book, and have seen all three of the Swedish movies. I prefer this movie to any of the three. It has a better cast - although Rapace was good, I much preferred Mara’s interpretation of the Lisbeth role; Craig is much, much better than the Swedish actor who played Mikael, IMHO; and it’s Christopher Plummer’s best role in many years - to say nothing of significantly better production values and cinematography. The violence is graphic but appropriate to the story. The sunny, washed-out 1966 scenes, the bleak, wintry Swedish landscapes and the undercurrent of dread and danger are a potent mix. The opening credits were overdone, kind of like a CGI Goth music video I thought, but that’s a minor quibble. > > Looks like we’ll have a sequel (or two), although without either Fincher, Mara or Craig: [The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011 film) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Girl_with_the_Dragon_Tattoo_(2011_film)#Sequel) I still prefer the original movie trilogy, slamming it all into a single movie sucked - the changed a lot of detailing. NOw if I could mix and match actors and keep the original movie trilogy [and get it in ENglish] that would be great. But until CGI lets one shove a novel in one end, name the virtual actors and get a CGI ‘Beowulf’ out the other end, not happening. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-anyone-seeing-it/606951/152 "2017-06-09T15:29:11Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > I still prefer the original movie trilogy, slamming it all into a single movie sucked - the changed a lot of detailing… The Fincher movie covered hardly any of the ground of the second and third Swedish movies, I thought. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-anyone-seeing-it/606951/153 "2017-06-09T15:33:28Z")
No, it didn’t. It ended where the book did. What about these [sequels written by Lagerkrantz](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TCI0P3I/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1)? Any word on if they’re any good? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-anyone-seeing-it/606951.md?page=7)