The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Stieg Larsson's international best seller, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, and the two books that followed it have all already been adapted, successfully, into Swedish films. It was a little confusing to me when David Fincher signed on to make this, because I never pictured him as the kind of director who would do an American re-make of something. He just always struck me as the kind of guy who would want full ownership of the visuals of his films, and not want them to have to be compared to a previous version of the same thing. His vision, though, as slowly revealed in various trailers, seemed to be an interesting, but somewhat straight forward, take on a film that already exists.

Dragon Tattoo focuses on Mikael Blomkvist, played by Daniel Craig. Blomkvist is a recently disgraced journalist who is hired by an elderly billionaire to solve a forty plus year old crime, the murder of his niece. Realizing that he is in, somewhat, over his head, he approaches the private investigator who dug up dirt on him during his trial, a troubled girl/cyber genius named Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara). Together, they fight to solve the crime, while various forces try to make sure they don't.

I enjoyed Dragon Tattoo. It's a really good story, and Fincher tells it on an epic scale. At, almost, three hours long, it was rare that I ever turned away from it. It felt like it was consistently moving forward, and while it may have slowed down, it never stopped. That being said, though, I feel like this was a great film, but not a great Fincher film. I feel like the name Fincher brings a certain amount of expectation with it, and there was no delivery on that. It felt like anyone could have made this film (although, I don't think anyone else could have made it quite as well).

The film can be quite graphic, at times, which is not too much of a surprise for a Fincher film, but some people may be put off by it. There are instances, though, where it felt like Lisbeth's story seemed a little overly heavy. A little research shows that Larsson was heavily influenced by witnessing a rape as a young child, though, so, it becomes a little more clear as to why the source material goes as far as it does. Perhaps Larsson was giving this girl a chance at revenge that she never had in real life.

Top 5 of 2010

My picks for Top 5 of 2010 -

1. Inception - Christopher Nolan's post Dark Knight follow up was, from the moment it was even announced, in danger of not being able to come close to living up to its predecessor. And, while Inception is a different beast than The Dark Knight, it not only met those expectations but exceeded them (at least for me). Nolan creates a new and unbelievably amazing world, with mystery and intrigue covering every square inch of the story. Watching the film felt like you were seeing something you had never seen before, and with some of the best actors of this generation, along with a story that feels tighter than a steel trap, Inception just couldn't be beat.

2. Somewhere - Sofia Coppola holds an incredibly special place in my heart. I saw The Virgin Suicides when I was on the fence about going to film school, and it was one of the films that pushed me into going. Somewhere continues Coppola's fascination with watching her characters, giving the audience the sense of being a third person, but very present, observer into the lives of characters that transcend the reputations and any "it" factor her actors may have. Her films have become, increasingly, like fashion shoots and obviously are heavily influenced by the commercial world. No matter her push for "realism", her shots are very tightly composed and thought out for maximum effect. It's as though Coppola is trying to sell you the lives her characters are living, and no matter how much pain they may be going through (real or imagined), as an audience member, you're buying it.

3. Scott Pilgrim vs The World - Edgar Wright has been hitting them out of the park for a while now. After his hit BBC show Spaced, he broke into the feature world with Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. All three projects centered around Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, and the three seemed to be unstoppable. Wright took a detour, though, in making the film adaptation of the Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series. Wright uses actors of uncanny resemblance to their pen and ink counter parts, and brings balls to the wall effects to the forefront, creating the closest thing to a true "comic book" movie that has ever been made - Not cheesy, but still faithful to the concepts and artistry of its creator, Bryan Lee O'Malley. While Wright excised some of the story from the 6 volumes of graphic novels, he brings the story of Scott Pilgrim to life in a lean and mean (and fun) way that, honestly, I'm not sure very many other filmmakers could do.

4. The Social Network - When David Fincher announced he was going to make a film about Facebook, there was a collective groan from the film loving community. Wait, this is the guy who made Fight Club? Se7en? The Game? And he's going to make a film about Facebook? Yep. And leave it to Fincher to take all that doubted him, put us in a collective headlock, and give us a noogie for not believing in him. The Social Network is tight, funny, and Eisenberg's performance as Mark Zuckerberg is both intriguing, cold, and funny. He proves himself a force to be reckoned with, and criminally underused. Aaron Sorkin's script is one of the most well written pieces I've seen brought to the screen. Leave it to Fincher to prove everyone who doubted him wrong. Again. When will we learn to stop?

5. Exit Through The Giftshop - In a true to form fashion, a documentary that was sold as being about Banksy turned out to be a documentary hijacked by Banksy, and would tell the story of the man who was trying to make a documentary about him - Thierry Guetta. Using Guetta's own footage to tell the story of the film he was trying to make, and how his own ignorance and stupidity brought about the camera being turned on him, Banksy and crew create the film that Thierry was SUPPOSED to be making - a document about the "Street Art" movement, but also tell the story of what happens when someone who really doesn't know what they're doing has too much time and money on their hands, and a whole bunch of "friends", who have spent years perfecting their craft and building their identity, to copy off of. The film is thoroughly entertaining and fascinating, especially for those interested in art and, specifically, the "Street Art" movement.

The Social Network

I don't feel like David Fincher has ever been a particularly zeitgeist oriented director. He's always focused more on stories that feel eternal, yet relevant. The Social Network breaks a bit of new ground for him, in that the story of Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg is very now. This is a worldwide revolution that is changing day by day, hour by hour, maybe even second by second and Fincher is trying to catch lightening in a bottle by encapsulating the creation of an ever evolving thing, which, in reality, is not just Facebook, but the entire social networking platform and the internet itself.

Jesse Eisenberg, in another great role, plays Zuckerberg a nerdish malcontent who, because of a bad break up, invents a quick game called face smash, which pits the girls of Harvard against each other in a contest of who is the hottest. While this gets him in deeply hot water, it also births the idea for a new type of social networking site aimed specifically at colleges, and, originally, meant to be localized only for the school you were in. It begins a massive growth, though, and becomes a monster, and makes monsters of all involved, especially Zuckerberg.

Fincher is in perfect Fincher form, using every tool at his disposal to tell the best story possible, and, truth be told, I can not think of a single thing that didn't jive with me. Jesse Eisenberg brings a certain naivety to Zuckerberg, on one hand, and a certain amount of evil genius on the other. Andrew Garfield plays the amazingly excited, but soon ousted co-founder Eduardo Saverin who ends up fighting against Napster founder/late in the game Facebook contributor Sean Parker (played by Justin Timberlake), resulting in him being left out in the cold, and suing Zuckerberg for a multitude of things. The film, at its core, is about how these apparatus's (specifically Facebook) come into existence, and how a simple idea can make people millions, and also drive a chasm between them that is so incredibly deep and wide, it will never be able to be closed. It made me feel bad, somewhat, for Zuckerberg's character, because he's obviously a douchebag, but he's a douchebag because he can't connect to people in a meaningful way. Odd for a guy who designed a site that is all about connection.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

David Fincher is one of the great director's of his generation. Although he hasn't made that many films, as compared to the filmmakers that started coming out around his time (Steven Soderbergh, Richard Linklater, Kevin Smith), all of his films (short of the studio cannibalised  Alien 3) have been amazing works of art. He has made countless television commercials and music videos, and continues to expand his visual grammar. With The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, though, he's brought a softer edged humanity to his story telling, with the help of source material by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Button is the story of one man's life, lived physically in reverse. He is born the average weight and size of a new born, but with all of the characteristics of a man well into his eighties. He spends his early life fighting geriatric ailments, living in an old folks home, and believing himself to be just like those around him. As he grows older, though, he grows physically younger, feeling constantly out of place as he maneuvers his way through an ever changing world. He constantly opens himself up to new encounters, and new loves, but is always forced to give up those things which he loves the most.

And that is the key to Button. If there is a single message in the film it is that death, and letting go of the things you love the most in life, is a natural part of life. It happens to everyone, and can not be controlled. Button is a heartbreaking film, and, as the title character, Brad Pitt brings an unbelievable earnestness to Benjamin, a simple man who always seems to be happy to simply experience life. Fincher puts on an incredible patina to the entire film, making you feel, more than almost any other film I've ever seen, that you are right there in that moment with Benjamin. Cate Blanchett plays Daisy, Benjamin's life long love interest with absolute honesty and clarity. She is the person you fall in love with, and lose, but you never really lose them in your heart. Benjamin is lucky enough, though, that he and Daisy always seem to find each other.

I think the one thing that surprised me the most about Button, though, was the importance of women in Benjamin's life. You never seem him have any guy friends. There is no real father figure (even his real father never really gets to act the part). The film is, in fact, completely about the women in Benjamin's life - Queenie, the woman who becomes his mother after he's abandoned at birth, Daisy, his life long love, and Elizabeth, a relationship he has while working as a sailor in Russia. Love, in this film, whether familial or romantic, is the number one message of this film - You may get only one chance to seize your moment with someone. If your lucky, and you screw up the first one, you might get a second, but its best to take the chance when you have it. Life doesn't last forever, and whether your young or old, you WILL lose everything and everyone you love in the end. Love them while you have them. Make today the day.

I want to end this review with this phrase that Benjamin writes to his daughter - "If you find yourself living a life your not proud of, I hope you have the strength to start over".

The Fall

The last most people saw of director Tarsem Singh (apparently, now, going only by his first name), was The Cell. And while that film had its issues (though, in my opinion, issues easily looked over), it was still a stunning vision brought to a life by a very talented and visionary individual. 

Well, now Tarsem is back, thanks to the likes of David Fincher and Spike Jonze, who saw a copy of the floundering The Fall, and used some of their pull to make sure the film saw the light of day. While I'm not sure what the exact story is behind it, I know that The Fall has been around for a few years, but for some reason, was never picked up by distributors.

The Fall concerns a little girl by the name of Alexandria, who is convalescing in a hospital for a broken arm, in early turn of the century Los Angeles. When a note she is trying to pass on to a nurse lands in the hands of another patient, she is quick to try to retrieve the special message she had written for her favorite nurse. The man who has the note is an ex-Hollywood stuntman, who, after an on set accident, has been left paralyzed from the waste down. The little girl begins to bond with the man, who's name is Roy, and Roy begins telling her a story about far away places, bandits, prince's and princess's and evil rulers who seek to destroy the good people. Eventually, though, it is revealed that Roy is using the story as a way to get Alexandria hooked, so that her need to hear the end of Roy's tale, ensures that she will do what Roy asks her.

The Fall, like The Cell, is visually stunning, but unlike its predecessor, it also has a much more accessible story line. This feels like a film that, minus some graphic violence, you could easily bring your kids to. It's enjoyable on, pretty much, all levels, by all ages, and I can't imagine anyone that it leaves out. With spot on cinematography, an amazing stop motion sequence, pitch perfect acting, and perfect art direction, The Fall is about as close to a perfect movie as you can get. Of particular note is the young girl who plays Alexandria, Cantica Untaru, who gives one of the most amazing and authentic performances by a child actor that I have ever seen in my entire life. I don't know whether they improved around her, or she actually developed all of those inflections and pauses and emotions... If she did develop all of those on her own, she could easily be considered a genius at acting.

The Fall, to me, is a great example of how, given a chance, a film that may seem a little "out there", can win over an audience by feeding its most basic needs. The Fall is like a well balanced meal - equal parts that fill you up, and give you what you need, with no useless leftovers.

Buzz Kill

I recently got in the mood to give David Fincher's Zodiac another try. I saw it when it originally came out in the theater, and, to be honest, was disappointed. I felt like all of the edginess that was always so present in Fincher's work had gone out the window. Zodiac felt like an episode of Law & Order. A really LONG episode of Law & Order. When I was sitting in the theater, watching it, it felt bloated, overly procedural, and I was shocked out how plain it looked, considering Fincher's previous cinematic offerings. Gone was the deep, rich blacks of his skip bleach processed 35mm, replaced with the Thompson Viper's gray, washed out high definition. His dark, and film-noir like world's were exchanged for a relatively dull, and uninteresting, take on late 1960's thru early 1980's San Francisco. 

As I sat down and watched it again, though, I started to see the film in a different way. I saw it as something separate from the rest of his work, and was able to sit back and enjoy the film without all of the attachment that I had to his previous work. Granted, The film still falls flat in some spots. When Jake Gyllenhaal's Robert Graysmith gets obsessed with the Zodiac killer, he becomes almost annoying in his obsession, and I still stand by my original assertion that too much time is spent on the cop characters played by Mark Ruffalo and Anthony Edwards.

All in all, though, after being separated from it for a year, being separated from all of the hype I had personally put into it, I'm glad I took the chance to watch it again, and see it through different eyes. It's definitely not my favorite Fincher film (down there with Alien 3, which I don't think is horrible, but could have been better), but it is no longer on my "Movies that really disappointed me" list.