Cinema Review – The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Here it comes, the latest Hollywood remake – The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. But how does this stand up against the swedish original? Teri checks it out
TITLE – THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO YEAR – 2011 DIRECTOR – DAVID FINCHER CAST – DANIEL CRAIG, ROONEY MARA, STELLAN SKARSGARD WRITERS – STEIG LARSSON, STEVEN ZAILLIAN
To say that Fincher’s adaptation of the first in the Millenium trilogy has been highly anticipated is an understatement. Feared, too – many of my friends who are huge fans of the Swedish original threw their hands up in despair when it was announced that Hollywood would be staking their claim on Lisbeth Salander, bisexual-hacker-biker-goth-research-genius extraordinaire. And why wouldn’t they? Before it was announced that David Fincher was set to direct, I was nibbling my nails down to bloody stumps and waking up in cold sweats under the impression that some idiot in tinseltown would think it’d be a great idea to hire someone like Michael Bay for the job. But no – it was Scott Rudin who pointed the finger, and in early 2010 it was announced that Fincher was our man. Halle-bloody-lujah.
If there’s one Western director who is truly capable for the job, it’s Fincher. A sweeping glance at his resume should tell you as much – Se7en, Fight Club, Panic Room, Zodiac et al – the man knows his way around a camera, and more importantly, knows how exactly to film and direct a pitch-perfect crime thriller. GWTDT is no exception – the authenticity of the original is somewhat (and predictably) lost, but it doesn’t make this film a bad interpretation. Dare I say it, it even feels marginally tighter than Oplev’s.
The story tells of the meeting of two minds to solve the mysterious crime of a girl who has been missing for decades: Mikael Blomkvist (Craig), ruggedly handsome political publisher and Lisbeth Salander, blunt-tongued surveillance agent with top research skills and a guarded past. For those who haven’t read the books or seen the original Swedish adaptations, I will end the spoilers there; one of the great things about the plot is its absurdity and the complicated twists and turns as the story unfolds (rape is a central theme, and it really is not handled lightly or with Hollywood-tinted glasses); and Fincher guides us through these routes with frustrating (and admittedly slow-as-treacle, as you can imagine from the man who gave us Zodiac) grace.
The bleak, rugged landscape of Larsson’s novel is captured beautifully in this adaptation, from the snow covered peaks found on the island of the crime setting to the cold and impersonal office and apartment buildings of Stockholm. The look of the film is grey, white and black, with very few flashes of warm colour inbetween; every line is straight and every surface is immaculate, even inside Lisbeth’s cheap and rundown apartment which is awash with white, blank walls and very little furniture. The look, the feel of the film, along with the crisp industrial soundtrack provided by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, fits the atmosphere of the book perfectly; dark, psycho-sexual, Scandi-exotic swathed in noirish urban grit.
The film isn’t without flaws – as I mentioned earlier, the authenticity doesn’t quite hit the right mark (I blame the wandering accents – yes, the cast have adopted Swedish accents – Mara is the only one who seems to get it consistently right), and Fincher’s fetish for the build-up rather than the climax itself pulls it down somewhat, but none of the performances can be faulted. Craig is a beautiful, beautiful man who can act up a storm without even opening his mouth, and Mara fits the bill and is breathtaking as the on-the-surface kitten-weak Salander who has the brains and surprising amount of brawn to bring down almost anyone who crosses her path. The chemistry between the leads is undeniable, that’s for sure.
Billed as the feel-bad film of Christmas, GWTDT is chilling, soaked with detail and a project that both Fincher and screenwriter Steven Zaillian have truly dedicated themselves to, neither robbing the franchise of its credibility or fluffing it up in any way. It is an adaptation for the fans, and I really hope that they will embrace it as much as I did.
FRC Rating
[starreview tpl=16 size='30']
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO IS RELEASED NATIONALLY IN UK ON 26TH DECEMBER 2011
Teri is a former film student from Edinburgh and currently works in book publishing in London. She can be found on twitter mostly talking nonsense under the handle @msenidcoleslaw
Have you seen this film? What abut the original? Do you like our review? Comment below…
Teri
4* works for me!!
We have booked our tickets for 27th, in our beloved Duke of York’s, balcony seat no less
Thanks for the great write up Teri. Brilliant job
I hope you enjoy it! I’m sticking by those four stars. #stubborn
You were far more generous to the film than I was.
While I haven’t seen the movie yet, I do have to say that if Mara’s “Swedish” accent is the same as in the trailer, there is nothing “consistently right” about it. It sounds extremely weird to my Swedish ears.
Regardless, this is a very nice review. Keep up the good work!
How odd! I didn’t notice the Scottish twang though I probably should have, being Scottish myself! I really can’t say whether her accent was good or not; what I can say is that she sounded the same throughout, whereas Daniel Craig switched from English to just ODD sounding all the way through…
Thanks for reading! I’m glad you liked my review
Regarding Craig’s accent I’ve read in Swedish newspapers that he refused to do the accent because he said that he know enough swedes that speak good enough english. However, to be honest I didn’t watch him as hard as Mara just because of that statement of his.
I do recall some of the supporting players doing quite good Swedish accent though.
Hi, Teri and company:
Great, intriguing review!
I’ve been looking forward to this film for a while. Your deft descriptive touch has increased my anticipation about three or four fold!
Especially since the last Swedish mystery that piqued my interest was Per Wahoo’s The Laughing Policeman from 1973. Where the action was shifted to San Francisco and Walter Matthau and Bruce Dern couldn’t help a terrific procedural novel.
Well done, Teri!
Thank you so much for your lovely comments Jack, as always. I do hope you enjoy GWTDT as much as I did!
I agree with Emil (I saw the film last thursday) sure she does an accent but to me she sound more Scottish.
I didn’t like it very much I found it to be a good example of a rushed shot-by-shot remake. If I had been a Fincher fan I’d be disappointed.
Again, failing to hear the Scottish notes but I think this definitely deserves a rewatch so I can listen out for them.
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy the film as much as I did.
No worries Teri I’m glad you enjoyed it.
“If I had been a Fincher fan I’d be disappointed.”
I am a Fincher fan and I was expecting more. Example: the last ten, fifteen minutes of the film seem wasted.
Nice review Teri. This is not my cup of tea, but if I were to brave myself and see it, I might go with the original Swedish version. Good for Fincher for making an adaptation that lived up to the original though.
Thanks Ruth! It’s pretty tough watching but I’d definitely reccommend watching the original first, if you can.
Nice review, I haven’t seen the original film but read all of the books. I was going to see the original version but when they announced that Fincher was going to direct the remake, I decided to wait for his version. I’m a big Fincher fan so I’m sure the film will be excellent. I’ll probably see the Swedish film version after I saw the American one.
Watch the Swedish one first Ted, please…..
Watch the Swedish version first.
I agree with Scott – do watch the Swedish version first!
Strange I feel like mr. Opposite in this discussion. Since Ted is an avid Fincher fan I’d actually say that he should watch the remake first.
Cool review, I can’t wait to see it! I love Fincher, and Rooney Mara blew me away in her two short scenes in The Social Network, so I can only imagine what she does here. I’m a big fan of the original movie, not so much of the book, but I think it’ll be good. The sequels were really disappointing, though..
Thanks Stevee! Yeah I have to say, I’m a huge fan of Mara’s since Nightmare on Elm Street remake (terrible terrible film, but she was great in it, as was her co-star Kyle Gallner who I hope also continues to get more major parts like she is) – and I did actually have my reservations about her being cast in this at first, but she was incredible.
Good read Teri. I wasn’t a huge fan of the original film but, since I saw it with a English dub, I think I do need to give it another go (with its original language track).
I haven’t, therefore, been eagerly anticipating Fincher’s version but I do want to see how it differs. I think that is where my interest lies.
Oh really? an English dub would suck big time!!
I can’t sit through dubs unless they’re animated – how’d you do it?!
Anyway, thanks for the kind comments – I’m glad you enjoyed my review, and I hope Fincher’s adaptation renews your interest in the franchise!
I was the same as you, loved the Swedish film, and so really despaired when I heard about the remake; until I head that Fincher and Craig were involved! Now I’m looking forward to see it; though Noomi Rapace IS Lisbeth Salander, so it will be hard to get past Rooney Mara. One thing that could be better though is Daniel Craig, Blomkvist is meant to be such a ladies man, and the Swedish version just wasn’t smooth or attractive enough!
I will probably see this at some point, but i can’t see it topping the original for me.
thanks for this review! I will feature it at some point in time on my page as I do not plan on seeing this one anytime soon.
I’m curious. In relation to remakes, do you like this remake/original pairing better or worse than the remake/original pairing of Let The Right One In/Let Me In?
I had a great deal of issues with it – by Mara is till mesmerizing. I need to see the original three.
Nice review.
“one of the great things about the plot is its absurdity and the complicated twists and turns as the story unfolds (rape is a central theme, and it really is not handled lightly or with Hollywood-tinted glasses); and Fincher guides us through these routes with frustrating (and admittedly slow-as-treacle, as you can imagine from the man who gave us Zodiac) grace.”
I would rather see complicated twists than recycled twists or twists you see coming a mile away.
I believe the missing gril is the central theme and the second most important theme is brutality towards woman: mental, physical, and verbal.
“the authenticity doesn’t quite hit the right mark (I blame the wandering accents – yes, the cast have adopted Swedish accents – Mara is the only one who seems to get it consistently right),”
There are many things wrong with the film, least of all the accents. I didn’t really notice the accents, though I did notice that Ronny sounded differently than she did in The Social Network and The Nightmare on Elm Street remake.
The Lisbeth in this film has far more personality and is closer to a regular person than the one in the book or the one present in the Swedish film adaptation.
The transitions for Lisbeth’s storyline to Mikael’s are weak and jarring many times.
All the blond wig scenes were unnecessary in the third act and the “coat” ending were…unfortunate…for the viewer and the film.
“Craig is a beautiful, beautiful man who can act up a storm”
Hmmm…really? I didn’t feel he was really given anything to do in the film.
“Mara fits the bill and is breathtaking as the on-the-surface kitten-weak Salander who has the brains and surprising amount of brawn to bring down almost anyone who crosses her path.”
She is not kitten-weak on the surface. On the contrary, she looks as though she is capable of cutting someone’s throat or at the very least, not a person you approach casually.
” It is an adaptation for the fans, and I really hope that they will embrace it as much as I did.”
It is an adaptation but the one for the fans is the Swedish version (if you have read the book). The one for the really hardcore fan is the extended edition of the Swedish version. Even more of the book is brought to the screen in that version.
Have you seen this film? What abut the original?
Only the original, have no intention to see the remake EVER!! The original is already amazing, why bother remaking it?
Do you like our review?
It’s a nice review that can convince people to see it….but me