The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Roll Call: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgard, Steven Berkoff, Robin Wright. Steven Zaillan and Stieg Larsson, writers. David Fincher, director.
What's It About: Based on the Swedish international best-selling novel by the same name, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo tells the tale of disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist's (Daniel Craig) efforts to solve a 40-year-old murder mystery. He is aided in his search by social outcast and hacker extraordinaire, Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara).
What About It: It'd be impossible to judge the movie without considering how well it sticks to the book it's based upon. For fans of the novel, it was just about the perfect mix of murder mystery and social commentary. Sure, not everything depicted therein was particularly sunny (though I think that suggestions that Larsson was a sick SOB who delighted on the mental imagery of the tortures he ran his female lead character through is- at the very least- nonsense), but the book was a taut page-turner. Could the movie achieve a similar cinematic triumph?
In a word: Yes. The movie did a decent enough job of staying true to the novel. All the elements of the compelling murder mystery- including the ability to keep the mystery unsolved for the viewer until very late in the game- show up on screen. Director David Fincher and company were also able to bring the intense, unique persona of Lisbeth Salander to the screen wonderfully. I can't think of many more compelling movie characters- certainly not any female characters- than Salander (whom Mara plays with all the right intensity and emotional detachment. She absolutely disappears into this complex character... it's fascinating to see). Is Salander a role model? Perhaps not. But she does play the game of life by her own rules and even if those rules are maddening at times, you can't help but respect her inability to be driven down by a society that refuses to let her be herself. (Salander- due to past "deviant" behavior- is made a ward of the state... a situation that turns from unfair and inconvenient to horrific throughout the course of the movie). Mara's personification of Lisbeth- I would imagine- is Salander how Steig Larsson wanted us to see her. It's absolutely riveting. Had a tough time taking my eyes off her... and I imagine most fans of the book will have a similarly difficult time looking away- despite all that happens. Mara just draws you in that completely.
So, given that the fast-paced murder mystery thriller, and the singular character of Lisbeth Salander are more than sufficiently recreated on screen, it'd be safe to say that The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a home run, right? Well... yes... and no. True, the basic elements of the novel are presented, but Fincher, Zaillon, and company did change several key details from the book. Normally, I understand that these types of decisions need to be made. To include every component of a 400-plus page book is to commit to making a four and a half hour movie... minimum. Still, one of the best things about Larsson's novel was how richly and deeply realized his characters were. You get the sense of coming to know virtually everyone who appears in the story. Given the number of characters in the story, this is no mean feat. Unfortunately, some of the details left out in the film serve to diminish this character development. For example, Lisbeth's relationships with her mother, Dragan Armansky, and Holger Palmgren are all either de-emphasized, or eliminated completely. So while I think that the filmmakers did an excellent job of bringing Lisbeth to life, I don't think they brought the fully-realized version of Salander to the story. And that's a bit of a shame since she's the real motor that makes the story go. Blomkvist, Erika Berger (Robin Wright), and many of the Vangers (the family for whom... and of whom?... Blomkvist is investigating) suffer the same fate. Again, I understand that difficult decisions needed to be made, but I wonder if there were other possible cuts- editing that wouldn't have taken such a toll on character development. Like.. say...maybe cutting out the gratuitous and overly long opening credit animated sequence. Just a thought.
I also have to wonder if folks who didn't read the book would have struggled with the movie. I definitely benefited from having read the novel in advance. At times, the movie comes off as a bit of a parade of characters- some of which are given little in the way of introduction. Also, several scenes seem to have been casually dropped in by Fincher and crew- almost as though they hoped the majority of the audience had read the book so they could make the connection. For those of us who had, no problem, it all made sense. For those who didn't...? Well, let's just say that I heard some confused murmuring coming from folks in the audience who evidently hadn't read the book or had forgotten a few details of the book... or, I suppose had read the book and were a little lost nonetheless. My sense, though, was that the folks who were constantly questioning their companions were folks who had little prior familiarity with the story. And I should mention that there weren't many such murmurers.
I really have no frame of reference for reviewing the movie from the vantage of not having prior familiarity with the story. I also have a tough time believing that if you paid close enough attention, it wouldn't all make sense in the end, one way or the other (a herculean feat for some movie-watchers, I know). For me, not only did it all make perfect sense, it proved to be as engrossing and incredibly interesting as the novel. Well maybe not as compelling, but darn close. As far as crime/murder mystery thrillers go, you won't find too many better... at least in terms of recent efforts.
The Bottom Line: Despite its drawbacks, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I had been meaning to see the original Swedish version of the story prior to seeing Fincher's American take. My thought had been that I didn't want my mind clouded by this remake when I was viewing the original. It usually ends up that the original version of foreign movies are edgier, truer, and often, just plain better than their American counterparts (or perhaps I should say, respected critics lead me to believe the aforementioned is true... I rarely see foreign originals.. I'd say it's a personal failing... but for the few I have seen, I tend to agree with the respected critics). All that said, I'd have a tough time believing the Swedes could have pulled the story off any better (though, I suppose I could be wrong). I'm not saying that Fincher's version will definitely be a better effort, what I am saying is that if the Swedish version manages to even come close to the American, I'd be extremely happy (and if it does manage to exceed it... well... wow).
Grade: A
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