Walking the Tightrope
Posted on: April 4, 2010
(Swedish actress Noomi Rapace gives a stunning and courageous performance as the enigmatic Lisbeth)
What you put in is as important as what you leave out. This is a common notion that is at the heart of every creative endeavor and in how we communicate as humans.
The overall effect of how information is perceived is dependent on the messenger and how they manage the dissemination. At some point the messenger has to make the conscious decision to edit or add details to increase the impact of their message. Good messengers have good instincts. And in film, this is sometimes the difference between the good, the bad and the profound.
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO is good movie which I enjoyed watching. It had the elements of a classic thriller and the rather unconventional alliance it’s protagonists forge between them was intelligently developed. The film makers did their homework. The plotting was carefully planned. But after 152 minutes, what keeps this movie from being profound?
In this case the film makers spent a great deal of time making you anticipate and create empathical bonds with it’s main characters while concurrently integrating the dark unfolding mystery of it’s main plot. (as they should) Unfortunately after all this, the movie loses some focus. Rather than be subtle in execution and editing, the movie clumsily degenerates into a chase, and ends with the film makers’ odd sense to tie every last detail down. Details that had they been left to the imagination would have given the audience some room to ponder and generate their own conclusions.
In storytelling, the process of elimination is as important as the addition. It is a fine balance. A series of crucial choices. And most of the time those choices are the difference between acceptance or oblivion.