The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Starring: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgard, Robin Wright, Steven Berkoff, Yorick van Wageningen, Joely Richardson, Geraldine James, Goran Visnjic
Directed by: David Fincher
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Mystery
2011

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: Journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) takes on an assignment to research the mysterious death of a young woman in the 1960s. As he searches for the truth, he teams with a brilliant computer hacker (Rooney Mara) to discover the truth about the girl's fate.

Review:

Tim: I was really excited for the American version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I thought the Swedish version was good, but from reading the book, I knew there was room to improve. Maybe not surprisingly, I thought this film was far superior. It's a taut, exciting, mature thriller. It is what I imagined when I read the book, and it's one of the best films of 2011.

Here's my thoughts about the adaptation. The Swedish version was good, but it was flawed. It skipped over important aspects of the book. The actor playing Blomkvist was completely devoid of any kind of charisma or charm. He also wasn't given much to do at all. It was too low budget. Now, there is room to improve, but there were some concerns, too. Chiefly, Noomi Rapace was so terrific as Lisbeth Salander, I was quite frankly worried about how the movie would be without her performance. Let's see how this movie did.

The cast was definitely important. As I mentioned, I was nervous about Blomkvist. Luckily, Daniel Craig was a terrific casting choice. I love that he put on some weight to see more realistic as a journalist. He's definitely not James Bond-glamorous in the role, but he does have a certain amount of charisma and charm. He's exactly how I pictured Blomkvist in the books. He's someone you can easily identify with and root for. I also love that he was the main character of the film. In the Swedish version, I felt like his character took a back seat to Salander. Here, he's definitely the main protagonist. Craig was a huge upgrade as Blomkvist.

Speaking of Salander, Rooney Mara had some massive shoes to fill. Luckily, she did the only thing she could- make Lisbeth Salander her own character. She was mesmerizing in the film, but in her own way. She wisely recognized that she's not the driving force of an actress that Rapace is. While Rapace played Salander as a impenetrable force, Mara plays her almost like a ghost, flickering in and out of existence- sometimes very real and full of pain, other times almost like an apparition. She went to impressive lengths to bring this character to life. I thought she was terrific, and I was happy to see her nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress.

The supporting cast is excellent. Christopher Plummer might not have been my first choice for Henrik, but he's very strong in the role. I loved Stellan Skarsgard as Martin. Robin Wright was perfectly cast as Erika. Consequently, the absence of Erika from the Swedish version was one of my big complaints. She certainly has a bit of a meatier role in this film (although still not to the level in the book). Wright was the right actress to make her few scenes compelling and memorable. The cast as a whole was terrific.

David Fincher was absolutely the right director to bring this film to the screen. His moody, atmospheric film is exactly how this story should be told. From the catching, eerie opening scene with that terrific music, to the grim, dark and twisted telling of the story, Fincher hits all the right notes with this film. It's hard to pull your eyes away from the screen. He's certainly one of the best directors working today, and when it's all said and done, may be one of the all-time greats. He directs an interesting, engaging film that moves so quickly I never minded the 158 minute run time.

I will mention that I felt like it was a little strange that Fincher changes the ending so much from the book. However, it was a liberty that allowed the movie an easier, more believable conclusion. It didn't cause me much concern at all. In some ways, it improves the story. I will say that I hated how the movie basically gave away a huge plot point from the 2nd book.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is an incredible movie. After reading the book and seeing the Swedish film, it was possible that this would have just seemed redundant to me. It never did, not even for a moment. This is the definitive version of the story and characters, and I loved it. It's one of the best movies of the year, and one of the best I've seen in quite a while. Now, I just pray they will make the next film.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 8.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2009), Insomnia, Fight Club, Zodiac