Meet Me In Montauk

11:50 pm - Sun, Jan 1, 2012

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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) - Review

The first in Stieg Larsonn’s hugely successful Millenium trilogy of books has already been converted to film once before, released just shy of three years ago and garnering mostly praise from critics. As with Let the Right One In recently, another Swedish language adaptation born from a Swedish novel of the same name, Hollywood saw fit to try their hand at the source material. However, unlike Let the Right One In, a story of great intimacy which focused on two brilliant child performances, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was a story that could genuinely benefit from a larger budget, scale and somewhat sharper visual style than 2009’s adaptation could provide.

Enter David Fincher, a director who could absolutely bring in the former after the success of 2010’s The Social Network, whilst undeniably bringing his signature visual talent on board. While he may initially appear to be treading familiar ground in the serial killer genre having also directed both Seven (1995) and Zodiac (2007), it’s one he has seemingly perfected. Tied to the same genre, yet entirely different in execution, where Dragon Tattoo would sit alongside the two, as well as the book and it’s existing adaptation, is what got me excited and ultimately also let me down.

Beginning with two drastically different characters each finding themselves in dire circumstances, Dragon Tattoo introduces Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig), a journalist sentenced to jail time for libel, while Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) is a gifted researcher who has been appointed an abusive guardian when her previous, far more lenient guardian falls ill. The two come together when Salander digs into Blomkvist’s personal life to ensure he is capable of beginning an investigation into an almost forty year old murder case, and eventually gets dragged on board when he realises he could use some help.

Understandably Rooney Mara in the role of Salander appears to be garnering the majority of the attention, and it’s absolutely justified. While Salander is partnered with Blomkvist, she is undoubtedly the lead, and acts like a magnet, drawing you in for every scene that she’s part of. Taking on a role thought perfected and sealed shut by Noomi Rapace in the Swedish original, Mara is fearless and just as able despite reservations held by many, and graphic key scenes are just as disturbing the second time around thanks to both the performance and the direction.

Which is why it’s a shame that Craig, despite seeming to be an example of perfect casting here as a grizzled, womanising journalist, falls short. While Michael Nyqvist’s Blomkvist in the original was capable of conveying the unconventional relationship between the two, it was hard to imagine him as the lady killer portrayed in the books. Here, Craig struggles at both aspects of the character, mistaking the laid back charm of the character for taking the backseat in most scenes. While I feel this is more of an issue with the script, and it serving to paint Salander as all the more unique in contrast, it leaves Blomkvist appearing lifeless in most scenes.

Christopher Plummer however turns in a fantastic performance as Henrik Vanger, the CEO of a corporation that has seen better days, and a man consumed with grief having lost his niece to the hands of someone he believes to be a member of his family. Though not in a large number of scenes, Plummer successfully convinces the audience to keep on their toes and suspect everyone, as he has had to for so long, and because of his performance you long for the eventual resolution to be a joyous one to put him at ease.

Unfortunately, you also long for the resolution full-stop, as though the film carries the weight of a large novel, it doesn’t dispense it over it’s 158 minute running time as elegantly as it could. A misguided and lengthy credits sequence aside, the film starts well enough and introduces the two main characters separately as a fine balancing act before throwing them together. Disappointingly as the film appears to be rolling towards a conclusion, the culprit is revealed far too slowly and clumsily, and most of what comes after is unnecessarily drawn out.

Ultimately, the film feels like a missed opportunity. It is by no means worse than the previous adaptation, but it was undeniably aiming for a better representation of the book as a single story, rather than the beginning of a trilogy, which is perhaps why it does away with so much detail.

Though the film benefits from a more precise directorial feel, and a good enough ensemble performance, it creaks under the weight of the source material and does away with characters and scenes that fans of the book may find frustrating.

Despite my issues with it, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a well-crafted film that I’d recommend to anyone wanting to view a film for adults, and one unafraid to approach themes such as sexual violence and torture head on. I absolutely feel going in fresh might provide you with a far better film than one sagged with expectation.