Remake of Stieg Larsson´s “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”: Do we really need an American Version?

For months people have asked “Why do Hollywood feel the need to make an English-language remake of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo? And right after the original version came out?”

The Swedish thriller, released in 2009, was the first of three films based on Stieg Larsson’s best-selling Millennium crime novels and was a huge hit in Scandinavia.
One main point for the new Version directed by David Fincher is that “American audiences typically hate subtitles,” says Tonia Edwards, who teaches film and media at Georgia State University. “For most foreign films, it’s an insurmountable challenge.”

So, however critically garlanded a film is, the English-speaking audience will automatically reduce the film’s chances at the box office and confine it to the status of art film, whatever its content.

Indeed! Even though the film was based on a bestselling novel, the Swedish version only grossed $10 million. So it´s more profitable to spend $100 million on a remake and getting the certainty that the Americans will love this film.

Furthermore, malicious tongues claim that Americans also want a familiar director, some thrilling chase scenes and a recognizable male lead (James Bond says hello). No one knows.

However, the result is, that The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo doesn’t ignore the original movie and is neither a “cheap copy”. They build on it and maintain the original’s contemplative, methodical tone. The new version is neither better nor worse than the Swedish film, but it´s more cinematic. Män som hatar kvinnor was originally made for television whereas the remake meant to be seen in one shot. There are no wasted scenes or a single minute where the movie drags on.

So, do we really need this remake? Maybe we don´t, but since we’re now having one, at least David Fincher made a great job.

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