The Swedish films were pretty good, especially the first one, and they made a star of Noomi Rapace for her thoroughly convincing portrayal of the intriguing Lisbeth Salander. Ever since it was announced that an American movie was in the offing, there’s been much handwringing by fans of Larssen’s Millenium Trilogy –books and movies - over how Hollywood would screw up The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. You can stop your bemoaning. The new movie, directed by David Fincher and starring Daniel Craig and relative newcomer Rooney Mara, is excellent, even better than the homegrown Swedish edition.
The basic story is about the unraveling of a forty year old mystery involving the disappearance and presumed murder of a 16 year old girl on a private island owned and inhabited by the Vangers, one of Sweden’s most wealthy and powerful (and dysfunctional) families. A disgraced, left leaning journalist, Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) is hired by the aged patriarch, Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer), to investigate and solve the musty mystery before he dies. Blomkvist is aided by a most unlikely co-investigator, a pierced, punk, aspergers-ish, autodidact, hacker named Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara). Along the way they uncover a series of horrific murders and ugly family secrets.
This was an A-list project from the start. Director Fincher (Fight Club [1999], The Social Network [2010]) is at the top of his form. The screenplay was adapted by Steven Zaillian, one of the best in the business (Awakenings [1990], Schindler’s List[1993], Gangs of New York [2002], Moneyball [2011], among others). The cinematographer, Jeff Cronenweth, worked with Fincher on Fight Club and Social Network. Their collaboration has resulted in a thoroughly compelling, beautifully rendered film. The narrative has been honed so that it is easier to follow than in the Swedish product, without any sacrifice of the tension or the mystery. Some of the clunky techno aspects of the novel have been updated and tidied up so they make sense and feel contemporary in 2011. And, the plot has been tightened up in ways that make cinematic sense, although Larssen purists may complain just because there are differences.
One example of this has to do with how a mysterious (and crucial) list of initials and numbers in the missing girl’s diary gets deciphered. In the book and the Swedish film, this process involves some tedious procedural work by Blomqvist and Salandar – poring over old newspapers, driving around the country to dig out old police files and interview people, along with a drawn out inductive and deductive reasoning process. In the current picture, the revelations are uncovered by Salander alone, and a lot of her investigation is off camera – we see just enough to figure out how she done it. This works to everyone’s advantage (the movie is 158 minutes as it is).
The Lisbeth Salander character is just a great invention, and her quirky looks and behavior made the book and make the movies so interesting. Noomi Rapace was absolutely terrific in this role in the Swedish films - a dark, guarded, troubled spirit, yet brilliant, clever and resourceful. She was physically slight, yet like a coiled spring, and a surprisingly dangerous person to mess with. As portrayed by Rooney Mara, she has many of the same characteristics (tattoo included), yet seems to become a bit more human along the way. (Or maybe I’m just bringing more to the table this time around.) In any event, Mara is a believable Lisbeth.
Daniel Craig is fine as Mikael, stronger, more sure-footed (and better looking) than was Michael Nyqvist in the Swedish films. Gone is the impervious tough guy character he evokes as James Bond. Here he is intrepid, but also thoughtful and vulnerable. Mikael’s relationship with his co-editor Erika Berger (Robin Wright), omitted from the earlier version, is elegantly referenced here, and I suspect this will pay dividends in the sequels, in which Mikael’s journalism career resumes. Stellan Skarsgard as Martin Vanger is also very effective. The rest of the ensemble, portraying the other Vangers, and a very evil lawyer, is fine as well – there is not a weak performance among them.
I also have to draw attention to the fabulously moody and subversive (but not hummable) soundtrack by Trent Reznor (of 9 Inch Nails fame) and Atticus Ross. This is one of those films where the music/soundscape is integral to the creation of mood and emotion. Excellent
My only gripe about The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is the opening credits, which are backed by a creepy and disturbingly graphic animation that, in retrospect, relates to the darker themes of the story, but stylistically has nothing to do with the film that follows.
Well worth a trip to your local screening room. Yes, even if you’ve read the book and/or saw the subtitled version.
Warning: There are a few disturbing bits in this film. They are necessary, relatively brief and well handled. I won’t describe further, but if this concerns you, ask someone who’s seen it.
In current release.
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