Movie: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Release Date: December 20, 2011
Studio: Columbia Pictures (Sony)
Director: David Fincher
Screenwriter: Steven Zaillian
Starring: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgård, Steven Berkoff, Robin Wright, Yorick van Wageningen, Joely Richardson
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Official Website: DragonTattoo.com | Mouth-Taped-Shut.com
IMDB Rating: 7.4
Story: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is an edgy mystery thriller that sports some great visuals and a moody soundtrack, but suffers from an overly long run-time and a dry story. Academy Award-winning director David Fincher (The Social Network) took on this cultish Swedish story starring the razor-edged techno-goth heroine Lisbeth Salander; unfortunately her character felt under-utilized in a movie that tended to drag.
Most of you have heard the name of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, as the original Swedish version of this tale of murder and techno investigations came out a few years ago to some excitement. This remake has been followed by some major buzz, all well-deserved considering the popularity of the story (Swedish author Stieg Larsson’s popular "Millennium Trilogy," which includes The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest), and the fact that Fincher was helming the project. That's why the end product feels more disappointing than it might have with less positive anticipation.
The story revolves around a long-cold missing persons case, and a bizarre but wealthy old family. The investigative reporter Mikael Blomkvist, disgraced after a particularly blitzed libel suit, gets hired to solve a decades-old missing persons case.
Lisbeth Salander is an investigator for a security firm, the one called in for the hard cases and not adverse to using less-than-legal mehods (particularly computer-hacking). Lisbeth is the type of woman who lives on the the fringes of society. She rides a motorcycle, has a multitude of piercings and tattoos, and wears mostly black; not one you want to mess with, especially if you’re a guy.
To say Lisbeth has issues would be a gross understatement. But along with said issues, Lisbeth is brilliant with a near photographic memory. Blomqvist eventually calls in Lisbeth to help with the case, and the duo come together in an unlikely team to solve the mystery.
Daniel Craig plays an easy-going Blomqvist, and pretty much nails the non-threatening male presence of the character. Though he has played uber-masculine roles in the past like 007 James Bond, his take on Blomqvist wasn't awe-inspiring but it made for a soft character background for the sharp character of edgy Lisbeth Salander.
Lisbeth Salander, played brilliantly by Rooney Mara, is a dynamic character that sucks screen energy. When she's in a scene, all eyes are on her, not matter what. Mara lost herself in the role, wholly becoming Salander in every twitch, downward gaze and mannish swagger. She looks the part, but she also feels the part, which is a testament to her skill as an actress.
NIN lead man Trent Reznor composed the original music with Atticus Ross, so the soundtrack is a moody beast in and of itself. It matches the dark themes and brutal elements of the story, and also the bleak landscapes. The film is set (excluding flashbacks) in a bleak nordic winter. The visuals are as dark as some of the storylines, though Fincher's direction is particularly exciting is did use some great lanscape to benefit.
The major problems come from what I see as a somewhat dry mystery tale translating to the screen in an unweildy mass. The story is somewhat predictable, and the character of Llisbeth Salander (by far the most intriguing character) feels like she takes a backseat in the film to the more sedate and boring Blomqvist character.
The two-plus-hour runtime doesn't service this story issue well, and there are long plodding interludes in the movie that could well have been left on the editing room floor. The initial set-up of the film, for instance, when audiences are treated to Salander being brutalized and raped and then getting revenge, could have been toned and cut down. As could the myriad of scenes with Blomqvist and his "disgraced journalist" side story.
The brutality and graphic nature of many scenes seemed over the top to me as well. It's one thing to set up a scene implying disturbing actions are taking place, but Fincher decided to bring all those moments to stark, unflinching light. This means a heavy does of disturbing images (which include rape, torture and murder) that aren't artistically buried in more palatable segways and innuendos.
If the runtime had been trimmed, and if certain graphic scenes had been toned down and/or cut out, I would be able to give The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo higher marks. Unfortunately, this Fincher project isn't up to his normal standards, and some pendantic pacing and camera work make this film just a mental ho-hum for me.
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