The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011): United States – directed by David Fincher

Rated R by the MPAA – contains some language, violence, mature themes, sexual content, some nudity, rape

David Fincher has decided to tackle Steig Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy, or at least the first part, and, as expected, brings his considerable talent to the thriller. The result is indeed thrilling, and often dark and disturbing, as was the 2009 Swedish version [review here]. While Fincher’s effort is slightly longer than the first filmed version, it also seems clearer, cleaner, and slightly more effective.

The story is dense and convoluted. Journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) has just been exposed as a fraud, his story on a corporate CEO exposed as lies. He works for Millennium Magazine, a paper devoted to hard stories, but this situation has created rather a bit of trouble for him. His co-editor and lover, Erika (Robin Wright) is also concerned. Mikael is tired, and when a sudden call comes in with a rather bizarre job offer, he accepts, if for no other reason than to escape for a bit.

He is called to the Vanger estate, where patriarch Henrik (Christopher Plummer) has a challenge for him; to find the killer of his beloved great niece, Harriet. For forty years her killer has gone free, and Henrik suspects a member of his own family. The family, including Harriet’s brother Martin (Stellan Skarsgård) and cousin Anita (Joely Richardson), is generally a devious and dastardly bunch. Half of them no longer talk to the other half, and scattered throughout are the odd Nazi’s. Mikael’s task will be difficult and probably fruitless, but it will pay well, remove him from the public spotlight, and be a sort of holiday.

In a parallel timeline the audience is introduced to Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara, capably taking Noomi Rapace’s role), the series’ most fascinating character. Salander is a rogue, a hacker and investigator whose means may not always be legal. She is a ward of the state, and has her own problems that include her abusive new guardian. She was the one who compiled a background check on Mikael for the Wagner family, and Mikael is impressed (and startled) by her skills and techniques. Soon he takes her on as a research assistant, and the pair work together (as much as Salander works with anyone) to dig up new clues on Harriet’s murder. Soon it becomes clear that things might be even more disturbing than they initially appear.

Those familiar with the story will have no trouble following what happens. The screenplay by Steven Zaillian (Moneyball [review here], Schindler’s List [review here]) quickly lays out the characters, and does a cleaner job of exposing the pieces of the puzzle than Niels Arden Oplev’s film. Those only loosely familiar with the story will not be surprised at any of the slight story changes, but devotees of the books might be thrown off slightly. Nevertheless, the story works effectively for this film.

The characters remain intact, particularly Lisbeth, which is important because she is the lynchpin of the series. Without her the Millennium Trilogy would never have been as big a success. Her mysterious past, violent tendencies, loose sexual preferences and semi-psychotic behavior are intriguing. She has been abused by many men, and therefore fights men who abuse. In Mikael she finds a pleasant soul, a man who is generally gentle, and also concerned for women. The film does a fine job walking the fine line between exploitation and portraying the horrors of sexual abuse; with the well-known rape scenes and revenge it could easily have fallen into Day of the Woman territory.

The production is sleek and slick, and rather more stylish than the Swedish film. The sound design is impressive, and intricately intertwined with the score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who so impressed with their work on The Social Network [review here]. One of Salander’s tech acquaintances even sports a Nine Inch Nails shirt as a nod to the band. The palette is dark, often grey in the snowy winter, and similarly muted as the story progresses toward spring. Combined with the atmospheric score, the effect is immersive.

Craig is more than adequate as Mikael, while Skarsgård and Plummer are great in smaller roles (a vastly different role for Plummer than his best work this year, in Beginners [review here]). Mara is the most impressive, though. It is clear that she immersed herself into Salander’s fictitious lifestyle, and she is capable of fierce aggression, vast vulnerability, and a generally unique attitude.

The first hour of the film starts off relatively slowly, interesting but less than thrilling. As soon as Salander and Blomkvist meet, however, the sparks fly, and their chemistry propels the film forward. The remaining hour and a half are substantially more thrilling, as their personalities clash and meld, and as the story reaches a thrilling climax and the requisitely expositional dénouement. Overall, Fincher’s version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is impressive, lengthy, atmospheric and largely thrilling, and utterly incapable of being classified as light entertainment.