Beaks here...
Earlier this week, I received a cryptic email informing me that something "unusual and interesting" would be unveiled before Wednesday evening's press screening of Rod Lurie's STRAW DOGS. The missive concluded with a link to mouth-taped-shut.com. Clearly, this was some kind of promotion for David Fincher's THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO.
Given Fincher's advertising expertise, I was expecting something slick and slightly unconventional. What I got was an eight-minute primer for the director's take on Stieg Larsson's widely-read thriller. Fair enough. It's a masterfully-cut piece of salesmanship, briskly setting up the central mystery - the forty-year-old disappearance of Harriet Vanger - and the unique dymanic between investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) and bisexual hacker Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara). Fincher's icy visual precision seems perfectly suited to the chilly Swedish locations: this isn't a noir that's cold around the heart; it's wholly fucking frozen.
I'm no fan of Larsson's novel or Niels Arden Oplev's film, so the fact that I'm even slightly interested in Fincher's version is a testament to the effectiveness of this long-form trailer. Aside from the director's striking compositions (deftly complemented by Trent Reznor's propulsive ambient score), I was particularly impressed with Rooney Mara's immersion into the rebellious character of Salander. This could be a transformative performance for the young actress; it's impossible to say for certain based on eight minutes of cleverly-edited footage (oddly dominated by Steven Berkoff), but this looks to be both a departure for Mara and noticeably different from Noomi Rapace's portrayal of Salander.
Hopefully, Sony is using saps like me to get y'all worked up for the eventual premiere of this footage online. It's far more effective in motion.
David Fincher's THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO hits theaters December 21, 2011.
