The Girl with the Feminist Tattoo

I watched the American version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo today.  I had previously seen and been a big fan of the Swedish version, although I have not read the book.

I fell in love with the Swedish version because of the character of Lisbeth, a sort of feminist superhero in my eyes.  Lisbeth is a character who has been victimized by those who are supposed to be responsible for her care (her father, her state-appointed guardian) but refuses to be a victim.  She’s smart and cunning; a survivor.   In the American version, though, Lisbeth loses this appeal for me because of differences in just a few key scenes.  Let me explain the differences in Swedish Lisbeth and American Lisbeth in some of these scenes.

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The revenge scene

In the American version, Lisbeth places a pillow on her naked state-appointed guardian’s crotch, then straddles him to tattoo “I’m a rapist pig” on his chest.  This felt overly sexual to me, and she seemed to take a great deal of pleasure in this revenge.  We watch her plan for it by acquiring supplies, and we even see her getting a tattoo over the fresh bruises on her ankle after he has restrained and raped her (leading to the revenge scene).

In the Swedish version, the revenge scene seems more matter-of-fact.  It feels more like what Lisbeth must do in order to be free of this tyrant.  She does not seem to take any particular pleasure in the act.  When she tattoos his chest, she does so from the side, and only after he struggles and squirms does she pin down his pelvis with her knee (not her vagina).

When Lisbeth and Mikael meet for the first time

In the American version, Mikael gets permission from his employer’s attorney to hire an assistant.  His employer recommends Lisbeth, who had performed Mikael’s background check before being hired by Henrik Vanger.  Mikael shows up at Lisbeth’s apartment with the report she compiled on him.  Lisbeth seems frightened, but agrees to let him in.  Mikael had brought breakfast, and tells Lisbeth to send the woman in her bed on her way, which she proceeds to do.  The woman in her bed, seemingly sensing Lisbeth’s fear, asks Lisbeth if she needs her to say, but Lisbeth dismisses her.  Lisbeth them places the taser she had used on her state-appointed guardian in her back pocket before timidly approached Mikael in her own kitchen.  She trembles while he explains why he is there.  He then threatens to turn her into the police if she doesn’t cooperate with helping him solve his 40 year old murder mystery.  And that’s how their relationship begins.

In the Swedish version, Lisbeth continues to hack into Mikael’s computer even after completing the background check on him.  As such, she is aware that he is investigating a 40 year old murder.  She sees his files, which include a list of women’s names with numbers next to them.  She recognizes that the numbers corresponds with Biblical passages, and she chooses to send Mikael an email with this clue.  Mikael later shows up at her apartment with the background file she had created on him.  She tells him to back away from the door so she can unchain it, then she invites him in.  She then asks the woman in her bed to leave (with no prompting from Mikael).  She stands as if slightly irritated (not afraid) while Mikael explains to her that her message is the first new clue in the case.  He asks for her help with the case, and reminds her that as a professional computer hacker, he was only able to find her because she wanted to be found.  This Lisbeth sought out a case where she could help track down a murderer of women; she was not blackmailed into it.

When Lisbeth and Mikael have sex for the first time (and a couple of times thereafter)

In the American version, Lisbeth goes to Mikael’s bed after he has been shot and undresses before mounting him.  Shortly after mounting him, they flip positions and the scene ends with him on top.   Later in the film, they are in bed together, and Mikael places his hand under her shirt on her back then removes it; she then tells him to put his hand back under her shirt, seeking out his touch.

In the Swedish version, Lisbeth enters Mikael’s bedroom and mounts him.  She continues to ride him until she achieves orgasm.  She then dismounts and declares that she’s going back to her room.  Later, in a post-coital moment in her bed, she turns off the light and turns away from him, expecting him to get out of bed.  When he doesn’t leave, she turns the light back on to ask what he’s doing.  I want to be close to you, he says.  After a brief pause, she says, “Fine, but I want to sleep” then turns away from him again.

Martin’s death

In the American version, Lisbeth rescues Mikael from Martin just in the nick of time, smashing Martin’s face with a golf club before cutting Mikael down from his noose.  Martin flees, and before Lisbeth gives chase, she asks Mikael for permission to kill Martin.  That’s right, she asks for a man’s fucking permission to kill a man who has raped and murdered countless women since the 1960s.  She gives chase, and Martin skids off the highway, flipping his automobile.  As she approaches the wreckage, the automobile (and Martin) burst into flame.

In the Swedish version, Lisbeth arrives just in time to whack Martin in the face with a golf club and cut Martin down from his noose.  She then chases Martin until he crashes his automobile.  When she approaches the wreckage with fuel ominously dripping from the chassis, Martin is still alive inside, calling out to her that he is unable to move.  She stands by, listening to him, until the automobile explodes with Martin screaming inside.  Later, Mikael asks if she could have saved him, and she admits that she could have.  Mikael tells her he could not have done that, but he understands why she did.  He also tells her that she does not have to tell him all that she has been through, but he is glad she is there.  She only says “thanks” and places her hand on his.

The end of the movie

In the American version, the movie ends with Lisbeth purchasing and expensive leather jacket and attempting to surprise Mikael with it.  Instead, she sees him arm in arm with his long-time sexual partner, so she throws the present in the dumpsters and speeds off on her motorbike. 

In the Swedish version, Lisbeth takes money from bank accounts of the corrupt Wennerstrom and disappears.  No school girl crushes or pouting from this Lisbeth.

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Since I have not read the book, I cannot say which characterization of Lisbeth is more in keeping with the author’s original vision.  Regardless, I prefer Swedish Lisbeth.  She’s the sort of feminist avenger I can get behind.  Not so much with American Lisbeth. 

It’s also possible that David Fincher can’t direct a film with an unadulterated, strong female lead.  After all, this is the guy that ruined the Alien franchise for me.  In the first two Alien movies, Ripley is, in my view, a great feminist character.  She is a survivor.  She is a female lead who remains rational and focused on survival.  She does not make stupid decisions that create situations in which she must be saved or that unnecessarily put other characters at risk.  Also, in the first two movies, Ripley is too busy surviving to be engaged in romantic or sexual entanglements.    In Alien 3 (directed by Fincher), we see Ripley at her butchest, shaved head and all.  Oddly, this is also the film in which Ripley fucks another character for the first time in the franchise.  I suppose the audience had to be reminded that despite her strength, penchant for survival, and shaved head, Ripley still had a hole that needed to be filled.  Maybe that’s Fincher’s message is The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo, too – that no woman can be complete until her heart and vagina are aflutter for a good man.