Title: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Writer: Steven Zailian
Director: David Finch
Cast: Daniel Craig (Mikael Blomkvist), Rooney Mara (Lisbeth Salander), Stellan Skarsgard (Martin Vanger)
Story: Adapted from Steig Larson’s novel, of the same name, about a news reporter and a computer hacker who investigate the mysterious disappearance of a young woman forty years earlier. During the investigation they uncover a string of murders and a horrifying family secret.
Within the realm of acting, actors fall into different characterizations. Among the list of types of actors there is impersonator, interpreter, personality, wild card, and character. In conjunction with types there is also different styles of acting, which include stylized, realism, and method.
Continuing to examine The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, three actors standout and are worth discussing in regards to acting.
First up is Daniel Craig. He is an interpreter actor that brings the style of realism to his character Mikael Blomkvist. An interpretive actor is one that takes the material and makes it their own. Craig’s performance in the film is done in exactly that manner, with the film being an adaptation of a book and already having been made into a Swedish film, he draws from both material and adds his own signature to the character. This signature comes through in small quarks that also contribute to the realism, which is a style of acting that brings a realistic human element to the character. Demonstrating both type and style is the way he pulls his glasses off of his face and lets them hang off one ear and the tapping of papers and pictures with his fingers while he is focusing. Both are things that a journalist could be believed to do, as most people have small tics that they partake in (Goodykoontz, & Jacobs, 2014).
Next up is Stellan Skarsgard. Skarsgard also gives a realism style performance but is a character type actor. A character actor fits the needs of each project they work on and can seamlessly, and almost without being noticed, slip into a wide range of characters. His performance as Martin Vanger, who is a sociopathic serial killer, showcases this ability. Skarsgard leaves the audience believing he might actually be his character and show casing the fact that sometimes evil things are done by the people you least expect. By starting off as, what seems to be a nice guy, he charms everyone around him and once his true nature is revealed his demeanor changes instantaneously becoming cold and dark as he leads Blomkvist down to his secret killing room (Goodykoontz, & Jacobs, 2014).
(Mara undertook a physical transformation. She not only cut her hair and avoided sunlight, as to create her pale complexion, she also got real piercings done to bring authenticity to the character.)
Last, but certainly not least, is Rooney Mara. Mara is a character actor who brought a mix of both realism and stylized acting to the character of Lisbeth Salander. Salander is hinted to be autistic, and Mara does a good job of portraying the social behaviors that a low to mid functioning autistic person might have. Though her portrayal is realistic there are elements that feel stylized, which is an over the top style that draws attention to the character (Godykoontz, & Jacobs, 2014). While Salander is not a colorful or loud character she is very much the opposite, which has the same effect.
Looking beyond The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Mara seems to consistently be a character actor. In some of her other films, such as The Social Network and Side Effects, she fits into the characters she plays as if they are different aspects of her own personality. In The Social Network Mara plays a typical straight edge college girl, her performance, though minor, was so believable that it in fact almost prevented her from winning the role of Salander. In Side Effects she plays a young woman who murders her husband while under the influence of medication. During this film the character goes through an emotional ride and Mara again shows her ability to slip into a character.
References
Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. This text is a Constellation™ course digital materials (CDM) title.
IMDB (n.d.) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1568346/?ref_=rvi_tt
YouTube (2013, January 28). MOVIES coming soon. Side Effects Movie CLIP – Five Minutes (2013) – Jude Law Movie HD. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TONFrY4-nWo
YouTube (2011, May 31). MOVIECLIPS. The Social Network #6 Movie CLIP – Erica Albright (2010) HD. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HbrQMgOUFw
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