Multiple filmmakers over the years have taken their shot at adapting Lisbeth Salander from the page to the screen. Steig Larssen's Millennium series inspired three Swedish films, while David Fincher (of all people) did his own interpretation of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. This week, Fede Alvarez of Don't Breathe and the Evil Dead remake take his shot, and CinemaBlend asked current Lisbeth Claire Foy what kind of director Alvarez was. She told us:
A good one. [Laughs] I didn't know that there are kinds of directors, but he is very gifted. He's very musical, so his rhythm and pacing is really interesting. And also, he has a really inherent understanding of what filmmaking is, about what it means to watch a film and be an audience member.
That may seem obvious, but Claire Foy's answer about her The Girl in the Spider's Web director goes a long way in describing why this movie is the most accessible film in the catalogue of Girl movies made, to date.
The Girl in the Spider's Web is a rollercoaster thrill ride. It's set in the same snowy tundra of the previous films, but it moves with the lithe suspense and white-knuckle action of a James Bond adventure. Our own Dirk Libbey pointed this out in his review of the new film.
It's most interesting that with The Girl in the Spider's Web, Lisbeth Salander becomes a character who can shape and shift to meet the needs of her current storyteller. Fede Alvarez chose to make a more action-driven, streamlined story, and Claire Foy fit into that interpretation.
Some might argue that the movie loses some of the layers that helped make Lisbeth Salander interesting. But I think it's OK to have a new story overlooking the baggage that we know comes with Lisbeth. It doesn't always have to be about her demons -- even though The Girl in the Spider's Web certainly has an interesting connection to Lisbeth's past.
When we spoke to Fede Alvarez about making a more physical Girl story, he admitted:
I think the books added it on their own. The character in the books got a bit more actiony, and even the stories, the stakes got higher. So it was really fun to get into this book where the stakes... the story is very, very personal, but the stakes are bigger than life, and that usually will translate more into action.
Before you head out to see The Girl in the Spider's Web, watch Claire Foy singing the praises of her director:
And grab your tickets for The Girl in the Spider's Web, which is in theaters as we speak.
