American remake of 'Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' underperforms, but why?

By Sarah Sluis

One of the films I managed to catch over the holidays was The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I had heard warnings that the movie was violent and hard to follow. Only the first was true, but infrequent. "One of the best movies I've seen all year," my seatmate enthused after the show. If Girl with a Dragon Tattoo is such a great film, why has it earned just $27.8 million since it opened on Wednesday?

Most people I talked to about the movie were familiar with the books. Some were confused about the remake. Hadn't they seen something like that on Netflix before? Was that the one in Swedish? Others wanted to hold out until they read the book. Still others read the book but were unimpressed, thinking they'd skip the movie. Dragon Tattoo also may have suffered because of its dark content. More buoyant action sequels, Mission: Impossible 4 and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, easily beat Dragon Tattoo this weekend.

I still think there's a chance for Dragon Tattoo to rebound. 86% of critics and 85% of audiences on Rotten Tomatoes rated the movie positively. From an awards perspective, it hasn't done so well so far. The thriller received just two Golden Globe nominations: Rooney Mara for Best Actress along with a Best Original Score nomination. I think the movie is much better than at least two of the contenders in the "Best Motion Picture - Drama" category, so perhaps it will sneak into the Best Picture Oscar race once this late December release is viewed more widely.

If this article praising director David Fincher for "[understanding] digital cinematography more than any working filmmaker" means anything, both Fincher and his DP Jeff Cronenweth will receive notice from their peers in the Academy. This scene analysis, courtesy of The New York Times, drives home the amount of thought that went into the look, feel, and flow of the movie. But I'm not holding my breath for Fincher. I feel like he has been rewarded for some of his worst work. Zodiac was about ten times better than Benjamin Button, but only one made a showing in awards season. The Social Network was good, but coasted on its zeitgeisty reputation all the way to the Oscar podium. Because Dragon Tattoo is a remake of a Swedish film many critics (though not ours) liked, and some have felt doesn't do enough to innovate on the earlier film, I doubt it will receive the attention from critics it deserves. But American audiences should see what amounts to one of the more entertaining, thrilling popcorn movies this year, with a strong female heroine to boot.