I recently saw "The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo" a Swedish murder mystery film,which I enjoyed greatly. It does feature a particularly violent scene in which the title character is attacked,handcuffed to a bed,and mercilessly raped.That scene is followed by one where she delivers some well-earned retaliation and blackmail upon her attacker,and that's just a subplot. That said,I've read news about Alex Reid's first feature film,titled "Killer B####",which has drawn a huge amount of controversy.Several groups in the UK have tried to have it banned from the theaters,not simply because of its title,but because it graphically depicts a woman being raped,I believe by Reid's character. The trailer and almost all videos pertaining to this film(other than commentary by the actors makers)have been banned from youtube,and there's little chance of it being released in the US under its original title,if at all. There is a website where one can view the trailer and all relevant news about the film. I ask:could it really be that shocking/controversial? "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" has been getting rave reviews all across the country,rape scene notwithstanding. I've seen the "Killer B" trailer,and it looks like a low-rate gangster film with some MMA fights thrown in,hence Alex Reid's presence.Bad camerawork,poor interior lighting making parts too dark to see anyhting clearly enough,and everyone screaming their lines with the F-word being every 4th word don't help. It seems that to avoid controversy,makers of "The Girl" flick made sure to offer something more than a woman getting brutally raped;there is a great story,great acting,and great cinematography thrown in. To any of you currently in the UK:what's the scoop on Reid's first step onto the big screen?Is "Killer B####" anything to look out for,even if just for cheap gangster-flick thrills?Does the director have the potential to be the next Quentin Tarantino? Or is this just more "Showgirls"-type hype?
I assume that an audience would be more lenient of a rape scene should it help inhance the story or move the plot forward. I don't think that "a great story, great acting, and great cinematography" were simply "thrown in" to avoid critisicm. Simply put, it sounds like one's a great movie, and the other's not.
"The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" is based on a bestselling book that had a running theme of how violence against women in Sweden often ends up being brushed under the carpet. As well as being a very enjoyable thriller, it makes a point about how young women's voices are devalued, even if not as a matter of "policy", it still happens. (The original Swedish title is "Men Who Hate Women"). If you compare that to a movie whose message is "HARDCOREMMAFIGHTFIGHTGANGSTEREXTREEEEME!!!!!!!!!!", you can kinda see how a bit more leeway might be given to the former flick since it's trying to make a point rather than just titilate.
That doesn't answer my question if KB is really violent or graphic enough to draw controversy.Is it worth watching at all?
The issue with the film in Alex Reid's character is that focus groups were concerned that it glorified serious sexual assaults. Its not about the violence (in the sense of martial arts) its just as how Moosey posted. Glorification of the "English Gangsta". Its all about the perspective and the placement of how a rape scene is involved within the story line. In the case of Girl with Dragon Tattoo, its there to create further sympathy for the lead female and also (as mentioned above) is there to highlight the violence against women which goes unreported/ignored. Also same with Irreversible where Monica Bellucci gets assaulted in an alleyway (however this also caused contraversy mainly due to the brutality and the fact it happened in 'real' time so the audience gets the full brunt of it, rather than most films showing partial of the incident). By your logic if KB is the cause for contraversy then Kickboxer is the most contraversial film of all time.
