The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Columbia/Tristar)
Rated R for brutal violent content including rape and torture, strong sexuality, graphic nudity, and language.
Starring Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgård, Steven Berkoff, Robin Wright, Yorick van Wageningen, Joely Richardson, Geraldine James, Goran Visnjic, Donald Sumpter.
Written by Steven Zaillian, based on the novel by Stieg Larsson.
Directed by David Fincher.
GRADE: A
REVIEW:
I must be one of the few people who have not read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo novel, nor seen its Swedish film adaptation (2010). I'd already heard so many good things about Steig Larsson's epic novel series before seeing the latest English version that I was a little self-conscious about stepping in so late in the game. After seeing the film, none of that matters, because it's arguably one of the best films of the year, despite all the hubbub over what's already been done.
Daniel Craig stars as Mikael Blomqvist, an embattled journalist and magazine owner being sued for libel by the head of a huge Swedish corporation. Blomqvist is approached by Frode (Steven Berkhoff) an attorney for wealthy corporate family that happens to be a rival to the plaintiffs in his libel case (which he loses). Faced with the possibility of losing the magazine and his main squeeze Erika (Robin Wright), who is the magazine's co-owner and also married to another man, Blomqvist accepts an offer to write a memoir for Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer), head of the Vanger family conglomerate. Before Blomqvist is offered the Vanger gig, Frode hires an investigation firm to do a complete background check on him. The person charged with checking Mikeal out is a waifish, tattooed, leatherbound, bisexual, enigmatic, young woman named Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara).
Lisbeth has lived a troubled life, bouncing between foster homes and losing the only positive father figure she's ever had to a stroke. After her foster dad's disability, Lisbeth is forced to deal with her social worker Bjurman (Yorick van Wageningen), a sexually abusive man in order to get the money she needs to survive as an investigator and live an urban underground lifestyle. Don't worry. Lisbeth finds a way to deal with Bjurman, albeit via a graphic method that will make just about anyone squirm. Even with Lisbeth's cringe-worthy act of revenge, the end result is worth the payoff.
Meanwhile, Mikael travels to northern Sweden (as if southern Sweden weren't cold enough already) in the dead of winter to meet with Henrik Vanger and begin his work on the memoirs. When he gets there, Mikael discovers that Henrik has something a little more challenging than a memoir in mind, and is given the task of finding out what happened to Henrik's favorite niece Harriet, who disappeared during a family party in the late 1950s.
As Mikael moves into the guest house on the family's island he begins to uncover a lot of Vanger family secrets as some Vangers are more cooperative than others. Despite living in several separate homes scattered across the island, many of the Vangers haven't spoken with each other in decades, even crossing over generations. Blomqvist's investigation into Harriet's disappearance progresses slowly until Frode gets Lisbeth to join in. Despite feeling a little apprehensive over working with the woman who invaded his privacy during his background check, Blomqvist eventually warms up to Lisbeth and she likewise.
As Mikael and Lisbeth get closer to the truth and each other, the danger increases for the both of them until one night when Blomqvist is captured by a killer and Lisbeth must race to the island to save him.
What happens next would reveal too much, but suffice to say that there are more than a few surprises and a little redemption by the end of the film, even though one of the two main characters is left with sad disappointment.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is arguably one of the best films of the year. Director David Fincher (The Social Network) holds nothing back in the brutal depiction of Lisbeth's experience and tactics, as Steig Larsson's clever mystery unfolds. Besides Fincher's great direction, a talented cast and crew work together to create a film that never gets boring, even during some of the more tedious "investigation" scenes. The ensemble of actors provides incredible performances, most notably Craig, Plummer, Berkoff and Wright, along with Stellan Skarsgård and Joely Richardson.
Top credit, however, goes to Rooney Mara, who delivers the greatest film performance of the year, in my opinion.
Mara plays Lisbeth with such precision that you never lose sight of the fact that a tortured an tragic soul lies just beneath the surface of an tough exterior. You are able to admire her heroism and skills while feeling sympathy for her at the same time. Mara also portrays Lisbeth as a person in control of her emotions despite having been dealt a lot of abuse.
Also of note is Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' soundtrack, which is altogether powerful without overpowering the scenes.
Please be warned that The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is rated R with good reason, and may be close to an NC-17 for some of the brutal violence and sexuality. One (aforementioned) scene in particular may be too tough to watch for some. That said, even with its dark themes, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo has positive themes about healing, love and redemption that should appeal to all.
