The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: good, but unnecessary [MOVIE REVIEW]
Rooney Mara stars in Columbia Pictures' “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” also starring Daniel Craig. Photo by Anders Lindén/Columbia TriStar Marketing Group
Final Jeopardy Answer: Because Americans won’t read subtitles. Question: Why did they remake “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”?
Certainly the real answer to that question is that an English language remake was supremely more marketable and therefore more potentially profitable than the original Swedish film of the first of the late Stieg Larssen’s international best selling trilogy; and profitable it will be because the film is engrossing and at times spine tingling and chilling. Beginning with the best title sequence in recent memory, accompanied by an edgy rock score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, David Fincher’s “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” immediately establishes an off-kilter hard-edged mood. That the film is, for the most part, unable to sustain that initial buzz is disappointing, but perhaps the bar of expectation was set too high.
Journalist Mikael Blomkvist has just lost a libel suit brought by a shady industrialist and with it his life savings. Asked to meet with Henrik Vanger, retired founder of the conglomerate by the same name, Blomkvist discovers that Vanger wants his help in solving the murder of his granddaughter in the early ‘60s, presumably by someone in his own family. Despite years of investigation, her body was never discovered. In exchange for his help in this Quixotic task, Vanger will pay him a generous sum of money and provide him with evidence to prove his case against the shady industrialist who, at one point in the past, worked for Vanger Industries. Blomkvist accepts and moves to the remote bucolic Vanger estate where he becomes acquainted with the Nazi past of most of Henrik’s brothers as well as the mysterious circumstances of his granddaughter’s disappearance.
In Stockholm, Lisbeth Salander, a ward of the state, leads an underground life working surreptitiously as a computer specialist (hacker) for a high profile security company. Her latest investigative subject is Mikael Blomkvist for their client Henrik Vanger. Lisbeth is very good at what she does, possibly even the best, but it can’t completely protect her from those who would prey upon her. Her life intersects Blomkvist’s when he requests that the person who did such a thorough (and illegal) investigation of him become his assistant. Together they begin to unravel the mystery as they follow a trail of cold cases, some more than 60 years old.
Steven Zalian’s script is more than serviceable and he has certainly included the salient features of the previous film (and presumably of the book). Zalian has elegantly laid out the intersecting stories – of Lisbeth and Mikael, of the cold case threads, of the living Vanger relatives, almost all of whom live on the grounds of Henrik’s estate and of the mysterious reasons and consequences of Lisbeth’s status as a ward of the State. The greatest difficulty with intersecting stories, however, is the natural flow of action and the writer’s ability to dovetail those stories into one another. Whether it is a fault in the writing or in David Fincher’s directing, there is a choppiness to the storytelling that never allows the viewer into the heart of the film until close to the end. Certainly we can see Fincher’s intentions when he juxtaposes the seemingly peaceful beauty of the countryside with the urban grittiness of the city to show that danger lies everywhere, especially where you least expect it; but even this juxtaposition is rough around the edges rather than silkily deceptive and smooth. Contributing to the lack of rhythm is the rather slow and methodical pacing. This is a thriller and the leisurely pace of the film until near the end is counterproductive, allowing the audience to drift rather than remain riveted to the story, and it is a very good story.
Daniel Craig, a soulful and dogged Blomkvist, and Jolie Richardson, a repressed Vanger relative now living in London, are quite strong; but it is the always remarkable Stellan Skarsgard who brings the most depth, deception and chilling warmth to the role of Martin Vanger, Henrik’s grandson and current CEO of the Vanger holdings. The presence of Skarsgard in any film always livens the action and rings a subliminal alarm bell for no discernable reason. Rooney Mara is fine as Lisbeth but she allows too much vulnerability to shine through the hard edges of her character. Very perplexing is the directorial choice to muddle the accents. As the film started, it looked as though the actors would speak with their native accents, and that would have been a good choice as the film was populated for the most part with English, American and Swedish actors. However, within a short time, it was apparent that too many of the actors were attempting Swedish accents, and while not as overt as the Swedish Chef of Muppet fame, it was distracting, detracting from the otherwise good performances of Christopher Plummer, Robin Wright, and the underused Geraldine Page. Perhaps there should be a law stating that only Meryl Streep is allowed to attempt anything other than an English accent.
Inevitably comparisons will be made between this version and the original Swedish film of a few years back, and for the most part they won’t be favorable. The original film directed by Neils Arden Oplev was a text book example of edge, acting and pacing. That Fincher, who has had a stellar career, from “Seven” to “Social Network,” took on the challenge of following in the footsteps of another was by turns brave and foolhardy. Still, all in all, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” is a good film and worth a visit. But do yourself a real favor and watch the original Swedish version before, after or instead of this one.
Now playing at the ArcLight Beach Cities and the AMC Galleria.
Neely also writes a blog about writers in television and film.