[20 OUT OF 46 FILMS REMAINING]-[16 DAYS TO OSCARS]
There was a huge rally behind “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” this year and many seemed surprised when it wasn’t nominated for Best Picture. With the huge David Fincher band-camp from last year, that theme continued into this year, with his remake of the Swedish film of the same title. Now it only finds itself in five smaller categories, with few hopes of winning.
If there is one category that I could see “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” winning, it would be Best Film Editing. The reason is that the other nominated films seem less intensive than this one. The uphill battle that this film faces is that the other four films are nominated for Best Picture, which automatically gives them the upper hand. In a completely merit-based race, “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” would definitely be a frontrunner in this category, but expect “Hugo” or “The Artist” to grab this one too.
The sound awards are so difficult to predict, but I see “Hugo” rising to the occasion and taking one if not both of these. Though, if the Academy decides that “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” needs some recognition, it might be able to muster enough support to take these.
Rooney Mara was a surprise nomination. When their were much better performances from actresses like Felicity Jones and Carey Mulligan, Rooney Mara basically nabbed this nomination because of the Academy’s desire to award David Fincher and his venture of the year. The fact that Mara was a much lesser version of Lisbeth Salander compared to the original performance by Noomi Rapace solidifies that Mara’s performance was not award worthy. She will not win and if she does, I will be extremely disappointed. Yes, it was a transformation from the Rooney Mara we saw in “The Social Network”, but that doesn’t mean it makes for a better performance.
All my hopes are going to “The Tree Of Life” on this one, so that doesn’t leave much room for “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” to win. The cinematography in this film is above average, engaging and dark, but not revolutionary. “The Tree Of Life” screams cinematography and brings a new twist to just about every aspect of film-making, while “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” is in all regards a pure remake of the Swedish version, even sometimes reminding shot-for-shot of the original.
