Rooney Mara’s W spread shows a dramatic transformation into Lisbeth Salander. And, some say, an unnecessarily sexualized one.
For anyone who saw the clean-cut Mara in The Social Network, the transformation into Stieg Larsson’s heroine is dramatic indeed: especially when you consider that Mara didn’t even have pierced ears. “They put four holes in each ear and, weirdly, that hurt the most,” she tells W. But it’s almost equally dramatic if you’re a fan of the books — because W makes Lisbeth overtly sexier than did the author.
The shoot replicates the look that David Fincher is using in his English-language adaptation, and the Daily News argues that, in contrast to Swedish actress Noomi Rapace’s transformation, Mara’s has “virtually none of the grit of Swedish cinema’s feminist take on the heroine….While Mara is decked out with perfectly bleached skin, stylized hair, flawless black eye makeup and Burberry and Balenciaga threads, Rapace’s Lisbeth always appeared as though she subverted her beauty with smeared eyeliner and a DIY mohawk.”
The issue’s a loaded one, since some are already critical of what the News calls Larsson’s “fetishizing the abuse” his heroine suffers. Rapace’s tough take on the character was a total reclamation; small wonder then that people should be alarmed to see the most potentially independent female character to come along in years baring her cleavage and doffing her pants. For a character who never relies on her sexuality, it’s an odd turn. But for those who couldn’t picture Mara in the role, her wholesale transformation should at least reassure on some level.
A Naughty ‘Dragon’ [NY Post]
Rooney Mara ‘Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’ Transformation In W Magazine Sexualizes Lisbeth Salander [NY Daily News]
Rooney Mara: ‘I Really Wanted To Be Lisbeth’ [MSN]
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