THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
Hey everyone! Annette Kellerman here, back once again for my yearly coverage of the South by Southwest Film Festival. As always, I like to keep my reviews short and sweet so I can cover as much as humanly possible within the week- a daunting challenge to say the least.
Kicking the fest off for me this year is The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Now, before I begin, I must first plead complete ignorance. I went into this screening knowing nothing more than the synopsis and the fact that this movie is "the most successful Scandinavian film in history" according to the info in the SXSW film guide. Definitely enough to pique my interest. It was only while standing in line that I learned it was based on a very popular novel that is part of a trilogy by the late Swedish author and journalist Stieg Larsson. As with all adaptations, I'm sure there are purists who would argue that the film could never hold a candle to the literature, but since I've already admitted my ignorance, my take on the film will be simply that- my take on the film with no regard for the original source material.
The film opens with the seemingly unrelated lives of a financial journalist in the midst of professional ruin and a young, beautiful goth-ish hacker hired to secretly scope him out. The journalist, Mikael Blomkvist, has been framed and nailed for slander in a scandal that has not only cost him his career, but will also cost him some jail time as well. The young spook, Lisbeth, makes her way in this world by digging up dirt on others while dealing with some seriously messed up personal issues of her own. While Mikael awaits his pending incarceration, he is summoned by an elderly man- a member of the well-known and well-heeled Vanger family- to investigate the mysterious disappearance of his beloved niece some 40 years earlier. While Mikael begins his investigation, Lisbeth also vicariously follows the case, eventually revealing herself and lending her own expert sleuth skills. As Mikael and Lisbeth's stories begin to intersect, the pair unravel the dark secrets of the Vanger family.
Now, I usually have rules about seeing films over two hours long, but I have to say, if you're going to make a two and a half hour film, make it like this. Every scene is meaningful and has purpose. There wasn't one frame of this film that we could've done without. There are some seriously gritty sequences in the film, mainly with the emotionally damaged Lisbeth that had me squirming in my seat, but later moments of redemption make every icky moment completely worth it. Kudos to director Niels Arden Oplev for delivering a darkly romantic yet thrilling mystery. The film has a satisfying mix of creepy old school bells and whistles via stock footage, photos, and documents surrounding the 40 year old disappearance, but it also stays current with a healthy smattering of computer wizardry thanks to the new school tactics of the young Lisbeth. Though some may argue that the double ending of the film goes a bit to the extreme, I was delighted by the nice, neat conclusion.
LEAVES OF GRASS
My second film on opening night couldn't have been further from a Scandinavian mystery. No, in fact, Leaves of Grass takes place right where this AICN spy was born and raised- in the great state of Oklahoma! Go ahead and insert your own wisecrack here. Get it out of your system, because this film and I are already in on the joke.
As a proud native Okie himself, director/actor Tim Blake Nelson uses our home state as the backdrop for a delightful tale of weed growing and family strife. The story begins with Edward Norton's Bill Kincaid, an Ivy League professor on the career trajectory he's always dreamed of, further distancing him from the life and family he left behind in Oklahoma. Cut to Brady Kincaid, Bill's identical twin brother (also played by Norton) and polar opposite whose own career as southeast Oklahoma's top marijuana grower is soon coming to a halt due to the pending arrival of his first born. In order to end his servitude to Tulsa's pot kingpin played by Richard Dreyfuss, Brady hatches a plan that includes fabricating his own death to lure his brother back to their hometown and then using their likeness in order to cut his drug dealing ties once and for all. As one would imagine with such a scheme, not all goes as planned and the brother are thrust into a bad situation that only gets worse.
Like many coming home stories, Bill deals with his family problems and contemplates the not-so-terrible-after-all simple life with the help of the small town poet/philospher/noodler (google it) beauty played by Keri Russell. He finally confronts his ex-hippie mom (Susan Sarandon) for being more of a party friend than a mother, and once again bonds with the brother he tried to forget.
Though at times the brothers are more caricatures than characters with Brady's down home drawl and yee haw attitude juxtaposed with Bill's intellectual disdain for his roots, Nelson manages to tie it all together with a solidly silly story and a fantastic cast. My only complaint is...not enough Dreyfuss and Sarandon. The film only hints at their stories, leaving me wanting more- especially Dreyfuss' drug lord who uses Tulsa's small but powerful jewish community as his front. Fantastic possibilities there!
Leaves of Grass will be opening with an extremely limited release which is such a shame considering what a fun and quirky ride it is. So many times when a film doesn't fit the theatrical mold, it is relegated to a DVD release and then becomes a rental phenom because the varying tastes of the movie going public are vastly underestimated. I really hope that Leaves of Grass eventually gets a wider release because there are many of you out there who would buy that ticket and really enjoy this great little movie like I did.
Well, I'm off to another day of film fun! I'll be checking in with more from SXSW tomorrow.
Until then,
Annette Kellerman
