A remake of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo wasn’t really necessary at this point in movies. After all, the 2009 release of the same name that was made overseas proved to be quite capable of capturing the brutal tone of the late Stieg Larsson’s first chapter of his Millennium trilogy, with no stone unturned in the mystery and a dynamite performance by Noomi Rapace, who has since gone on to bigger and better roles – including a turn in the Sherlock Holmes sequel we reviewed last week. But nevertheless, Hollywood wanted a turn, and it went with director David Fincher, the unflinching mastermind behind Seven and the most recent tale of Facebook, The Social Network, to run wild on Dragon Tattoo. Needless to say, the results are quite startling. The story’s about the same. Both of the main characters are having their fair share of hard times as of late, but still need to work together in order to solve a mystery.
On the one side is Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig, far removed from his James Bond role), a journalist who’s facing legal charges and trying to take his mind off of them. He’s called upon by Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer), a wealthy industrialist who’s been nagged by a haunting mystery after all these years. Turns out that his niece Harriet went missing at a family function, and her body has never been found. What’s worth, Henrik insists that it could very well be someone within his own family, loaded with questionable types that keep to themselves, making Mikael’s job that much harder. On the other side is Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara, taking over for Rapace and far removed herself from her all-too-brief role in The Social Network), a goth-oriented chick who has a severe distrust for most folks, primarily men. She has her fair share of problems, including a laptop that’s not running entirely up to speed, a run-in in the subway and legal problems surrounding a parole officer (Yorick van Wageningen), a true sicko who takes his pervertedness to new lows by sexually assaulting her.
She’s called upon to help Mikael, and, after dishing our some sweet revenge (done in the usual Fincher style, we assure you), she’s on the case. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is easily my favorite of the original Millennium trilogy, not just because of the mystery itself but because of the interplay between the two main characters. Mikael and Lisbeth couldn’t be more far removed from one another, and yet the story somehow makes them click together, even if the narrative manages to sway a little bit in the process. The original Swedish film handled this very well, but Fincher’s version manages to top it. Craig proves to be very much up to the role of Blomkvist, even though he’s clearly second fiddle to the outlandish actions of Lisbeth. You can see the worry that lulls in him as he tries to solve the mystery involving the Vangers, and where frustration can easily come into play. Mara also shows some great signs of accomplishment as Lisbeth. You can see just how much anguish she goes through, and yet feel a great amount of sympathy as she sets out to prove just how strong and full of resolve she really is.
While we still prefer Rapace just a slight bit, she does a great job with the role, and we wouldn’t dare discount her a chance to shine on in future roles in Hollywood. Preferably ones without a knife. Ha! Anyway, this is Fincher’s show, and right away you can tell that when the movie begins. The opening sequence is absolutely dazzling, even better than the original film could have done, though we won’t spoil it here. And the way the film ends is equally superb, making the wretching brutality that arises at times all the more worthwhile once a resolution arises. But inbetween, we’re given a compelling take on the story, one that Fincher injects with his own amount of energy. The musical score is perfect, the direction is damn near flawless (though the narrative issue does pop up still) and the fact that nothing really gets held back – the film earned a hard “R” for a reason – truly defines this as the work of the director. Like Seven, Zodiac and, to a lesser extent, Fight Club, you won’t be able to shake the uneasy feeling, but that’s the point really.
It’s going to be interesting to see what Fincher and his team does with the remaining two films in the trilogy. As good as The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest were in book form, the films were a little off in tone. If he can somehow inject them with life and the same amount of unshakeable energy and malice that the first one contains, we could be in for a hell of a ride, watching Lisbeth and Mikael’s journey get jolted like crazy. Unfortunately, it’ll be a little while until we see the second chapter, and what it can do. (I don’t even think there’s a release date for it yet…?) But for the moment, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo qualifies as a stirring film, one that fans shouldn’t miss – even if they preferred what was done in the original. The performances are great (particularly Mara), and Fincher’s direction shows he’s still got the steady hand after all these years, with the capability of still shocking us. Glad to see he hasn’t lost his edge. (Granted, Stieg Larsson deserves some credit, too…) Check out the official trailer for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo below.
