How are we going to handle the sex? Movies can never be the same as the books they are based on: not necessarily worse, but never the same. This becomes sticky when the book is really popular, because the book’s fans will be pissed off if the movie strays too far from what the reader has constructed in her imagination. A truly faithful adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s trilogy would result in a movie about twenty hours long that no one could bear to watch. Screenwriters must cut stuff out, and rearrange or consolidate characters and events.
The books are crime thrillers, silly at times, digressive, full of WTF? coincidence, and incredibly fun to read. Based strictly on word frequency, you would think the meta-plot was about coffee. They have penetrated American pop culture deeply enough that Garrison Keillor is making Lisbeth Salander jokes on Prairie Home Companion, but few Americans will see the Swedish film versions. (Thank God Baltimore has the Charles Theater.) Americans (mostly) do not go to movies with actors they don’t recognize, and especially not foreign films with subtitles. But don’t worry, the Hollywood versions are on the way. Reportedly, the English language movies will also be shot in Sweden. Daniel Craig has been cast as the leading man, but the all-important role of Lisbeth Salander is not yet decided. Well, it probably is decided (Carey Mulligan), but not yet made public. Or it could be Ellen Page, Natalie Portman, Anne Hathaway, or Olivia Thirlby.
Whoever it is, she’ll have to fight to keep out of Daniel Craig’s shadow, and that’s weird because the best thing in the trilogy is the invention of the incredibly excellent character, Lisbeth Salander. Though she plays a supporting role in the first book, she dominates in terms of interest. In the second book, she takes over completely (I’m still reading the third). While the Swedes and the awesome Noomi Rapace do not chicken out in their Salander creation, no film can ever improve on the Salander you form in your own mind from reading the books. It is impossible to imagine that a Hollywood movie, with all the corporate hand wringing, will allow an honest portrayal of this character. The good news is that Fincher is directing, and he’s got the attitude and power to not totally turn Salander into a cream puff. Right, Dave? With cautious optimism, we can feel somewhat secure that the part will not go to Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Scarlett Johansson, or Dakota Fanning.
The book’s male protagonist, Blomkvist, is divorced and in his forties. He sleeps with lots of female characters in their fifties. He also sleeps with Salander, who’s like twenty-four. What I love is the utterly casual portrayal of sex. It’s not jazzed up, smirking, or dripping in soft-core tropes. It’s just kind of, well, grown-up. I was taken aback when I saw the Swedish Dragon Tattoo: Blomkvist is not shown sleeping with any of the older women. That was wrong. It was the coolest thing about Blomkvist. I hope Fincher gets that.
The author, Stieg Larsson, was a pretty amazing dude. He died suddenly after he finished writing the whole trilogy, but before it was published. He never knew that he would become unbelievably rich. This brought up a philosophical argument between my friend John and me, after we left the Charles: Would it be better to die and never know you would be “immortal,” or to live and have the novels be a flop? Read about Larsson’s life before you decide.
— david warfield
