David Fincher's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is explicit in almost every way, featuring graphic scenes of rape and torture, copious nudity from leading lady Rooney Mara, and even some blunt discussions of the Swedish legal system-- OK, OK, that last one probably didn't contribute to its hard-R rating. But what's brilliant about the film is the way Fincher's attention to detail makes all of that more than just titillation or exploitation; even when you see Mara's Lisbeth Salander stripped naked, it's for a purpose and a clear explanation of her character. And yes, that includes the moment when you see Lisbeth Salander's pubic hair.
Yeah, you heard me. How the movie hung on to its R rating without bumping up to NC-17 I have no idea, but there's one clear moment in Dragon Tattoo in which you glimpse Salander's pubic hair-- and according to Mara, even that tiny glimpse was discussed intensely on the set. Here's how she explained the evolution of the merkin to Metro:
There was a lot of discussion that went into my merkin for the movie, because I was naked quite a lot. And I don’t think a lot of people will notice all of the attention that went into that. But there was a lot of discussions around that.What sort of discussions are we talking about?Well, you know, in the book she’s meant to have strawberry-blonde hair originally and she dyes it, so we had a special merkin made that was, you know, strawberry-blonde so that it would fit. [laughs]
So there you have it-- the famously meticulous Fincher went back to the source material to make sure the merkin was absolutely perfect. For more on the ways Fincher and Mara make Dragon Tattoo fantastic, you can read my recently published review. The movie comes to theaters next Wednesday, December 21.
