Reviews – Film: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

by Suzan Ryan , under Reviews, Web Exclusives

Director: David Fincher
Stars: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgard, Robin Wright
Sony

ADAPTING the first part of the brilliant Millennium book trilogy by Swedish author and journalist Stieg Larsson comes David Fincher’s take on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It tells the story of disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Craig) whom a large corporation he accused of criminal dealings has just sued for libel. Awaiting his three-month jail sentence he is hired to try to solve a near 40-year-old unsolved mystery.

The wealthy and powerful Vanger family, led by Henrik Vanger (Plummer) has more than its fair share of secrets and skeletons and Henrik entreats Mikael to uncover the whereabouts of his missing niece Harriet. Filled with twists and turns, this mystery takes on a life of its own and Mikael finds himself horribly out of his depth. Contacted by unconventional hacker, Lisbeth Salander (Mara), who previously ran a background check on him at Vanger’s request, the two collaborate and begin to unravel the chequered Vanger family history as they draw closer and closer to the truth.

Given that the Swedish language film version by Niels Arden Oplev was released a mere two years ago (and in my opinion is a far superior offering) it begs the question, did this film need to be re-imagined at all? Fincher’s version adds layers to the plotline with no real added effect, introduces new characters and elements and completely glosses over others to the film’s detriment.

These choices weaken the nature of the relationship between Lisbeth and Blomkvist, ignore the previous tenuous connections between the Blomkvist and Vanger family that gives Mikael a personal stake in the investigation and fails to acknowledge Lisbeth’s troubled past in detail making her a less sympathetic character. The film telegraphs everything, connecting the dots far too neatly, almost overbearingly at times rather than letting you draw your own conclusions and paint your own picture of events as they unfold.

The cast does an admirable job with Plummer and Skarsgard playing Henrik and Martin Vanger respectively and Robin Wright as Erika Berger in particular bringing beautiful sensitivity to their side roles. Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara are solid as Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander, though the balancing between the two leads is just a little off. Craig is a little too strong, lacking the softness that makes Mikael so wonderfully vulnerable and Mara’s Lisbeth is not quite strong enough.

Comparisons between the two film versions are unavoidable with the 2009 Swedish film resembling a piece of Swedish furniture; good looking without unnecessary flash, sturdy, functional and clean. This Americanised offering by Fincher is louder, brasher, lacks subtlety and somehow manages to be too clever for its own good and dumbed down at the same time.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is in cinemas 12 January, 2012.

Review: Dave Kozicki