With the marketing department behind David Fincher‘s “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” already giving the film the tagline “The Feel Bad Movie Of Christmas,” they certainly aren’t joking around. Based on Stieg Larsson‘s international best-selling book, the story delves into rape, sexual abuse, torture, sodomy and other similarly salacious elements, so yeah, this may be one where you’d be advised to leave grandma at home. But full credit to Sony, they are going R-rated with this one all the way and standing clear to let Fincher do his thing and as Daniel Craig tells it to Esquire the movie will be an anomaly at the multiplex that increasing caters to younger and younger audiences.
“It’s as adult as you can possibly make it. This is adult drama. I grew up, as we fucking all did, watching ‘The Godfather‘ and that, movies that were made for adults, Craig tells the magazine. “And this is a $100 million R-rated movie. Nobody makes those anymore. And Fincher, he’s not holding back. They’ve given him free rein. He showed me some scenes recently, and my hand was over my mouth, going, ‘Are you fucking serious?'” Certainly not a surprise from a film that is already showing boobs on its one sheets.
But even more intriguing, Craig seems to intimate that what Fincher has put together isn’t simply gratuitous but gains its power from what’s implied rather than shown. “…it’s not that he simply showed me footage that was horribly graphic,” Craig says. “It was stuff that was happening, or had happened. And somehow you don’t see it.” So perhaps something right in the sweet spot between “Se7en” and “Zodiac” tonally? Yeah, we could definitely be down with that.
Definitely something intriguing to consider as the marketing campaign for this is still just beginning to heat up, with more glimpses and hints to come. Starring Rooney Mara, Robin Wright, Christopher Plummer, Joely Richardson, Steven Berkoff, David Dencik, Stellan Skarsgård, Yorick van Wageningen, Bengt C.W. Carlsson, Mathilda von Essen and Goran Visnjic, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” will hit theaters and darken your Christmas on December 21st.