Movie Recommendations, Rants and Ruminations
Another take on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo releases on December 21. It’s a gripping story and, boy, am I looking forward to the version by David Fincher (Fight Club, Zodiac, The Social Network). Here’s the teaser, featuring a remix of Led Zep’s Immigrant Song by Trent Reznor and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Karen O. Unfortunately, the teaser contains about 150 cuts in 100 seconds, very few of which show the stars, Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara. But Sweden still looks gray and forbidding!
The birth story of Facebook is a riveting tale of college sophomores that are brilliant, ambitious, immature, self-absorbed and disloyal – and about to become zillionaires. It’s a triumph for director David Fincher (Fight Club, Zodiac) and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin (A Few Good Men, The West Wing, Charlie Wilson’s War). Sorkin has written a screenplay about nerdy guys writing computer code and has made it fast-paced, understandable, funny and even gripping.
The most compelling aspect of the film is Jesse Eisenberg’s performance as Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg. Eisenberg’s Zuckerman has few social skills, less social aptitude and exactly one friend, yet creates a framework for other people to share scores and even hundreds of “friends”. Eisenberg carries the film with an especially intense performance of an emotionally remote character. Eisenberg has been underrated despite strong performances in Adventureland, Zombieland and Solitary Man. Here, it is impossible to think of another actor who could so vividly create this Zuckerman.
The rest of the cast is outstanding, especially, Justin Timberlake (as Napster infant terrible Sean Parker), Armie Hammer, Rooney Mara and Douglas Urbanski.
One more thing: Fincher and Sorkin know how to end a movie.
It’s on my list of Best Movies of 2010.
The Social Network tells us something about The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo – not about this year’s Swedish version, but about next year’s Hollywood version to be directed by David Fincher.
First, The Social Network shows that Fincher (Fight Club, Zodiac) is still operating at his best. The Social Network is essentially about some annoying, immature geeks writing computer code and getting financing for a company – but Fincher makes it rock! Fight Club and Zodiac are two of my favorite contemporary films, and Fight Club‘s desperate violence and Zodiac‘s whodunit relentlessness translate directly to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. So there couldn’t be a better director for this project than Fincher.
Second, the success of the Stieg Larsson trilogy depends on the portrayal of Lisbeth Salander. The Swedish version has been amazing because of the Danish actress Noomi Rapace’s jawdropping Lisbeth. But in Fincher’s movies, Lisbeth Salander will be played by Rooney Mara. The good news from The Social Network is that Mara nails her scenes as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s soon-to-be ex-girlfriend. And we get a glimmer of the intensity that Mara will need for Lisbeth. Plus Mara is used to working with Fincher, who is notorious for his scores of takes; reportedly, Fincher required over 90 takes for the opening scene between Mara and Jesse Eisenberg.
The best and most entertaining movie of the Fall tells the birth story of Facebook, and may win Oscars for director David Fincher (Fight Club, Zodiac) and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin (A Few Good Men, The West Wing, Charlie Wilson’s War). It’s a riveting tale of college sophomores that are brilliant, ambitious, immature, self-absorbed and disloyal – and about to become zillionaires.
Let’s reflect on Sorkin’s challenge here; he is writing a screenplay about nerdy guys writing computer code and making it fast-paced, understandable, funny and even gripping. To compound his challenge, all of the main characters but one are extremely obnoxious, yet he makes us care about what happens to them.
Yet the most compelling aspect of the film is Jesse Eisenberg’s performance as Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg. Eisenberg’s Zuckerman has few social skills, less social aptitude and exactly one friend, yet creates a framework for other people to share scores and even hundreds of “friends”. Eisenberg carries the film with an especially intense performance of an emotionally remote character. Eisenberg has been underrated despite strong performances in Adventureland, Zombieland and Solitary Man. Here, it is impossible to think of another actor who could so vividly create this Zuckerman.
This is a uniformly well-acted movie. Justin Timberlake is terrific as Napster infant terrible Sean Parker. Armie Hammer is outstanding as both of the Winklevoss twins, the entitled, preppie wunderkinden. Rooney Mara nails her scenes as Zuckerberg’s soon-to-be ex-girlfriend. Douglas Urbanski (usually a producer) does a viciously hilarious impersonation of former Treasury Secretary and Harvard President Larry Summers.
One more thing: Fincher and Sorkin know how to end a movie.
Well, here’s a surprise. In David Fincher’s upcoming film versions of the Stieg Larsson novels, Lisbeth Salander will be played by…Rooney Mara. 25-year-old Rooney Mara, sister of Kate, will play in Fincher’s The Social Network this October, so he must know something. She also has a few credits in TV guest slots, plus a Nightmare on Elm Street movie. She was also in Youth in Revolt, a nice little movie that I saw in January, but I have no memory of Rooney in it.
The entire success of the film trilogy depends on the portrayal of Lisbeth Salander. Is Rooney Mara a good choice? Right now, I’ll withhold judgement. It’s important to realize that Noomi Rapace, the actress who has so convincingly played Lisbeth in the Swedish versions, is not naturally a psycho hard ass – she undertook lots of preparation for the role, including six months of kick boxing AND a special diet AND the body piercings to harden herself for the role.
