The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo [DVD]

 

 

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A disgraced financial journalist, and a young antisocial computer hacker join forces to solve the 40 year old mystery of a teenage girl's disappearance. As they do so, they get drawn into serious crime and corruption, deadly family secrets, and a string of unsolved murders of young women spanning fifty years, which puts their own lives at unbelievable risk. Will they solve the mystery before they become history?

When I saw the original movie series about two years ago, I was awestruck by mostly the awesome acting of Noomi rapace, and the movie's visual style, and it's inherent raunchiness, which is more common in stylish European thrillers than slick Hollywood movies. When I heard there would be an English version, I thought this would be a hard act to follow, and without Noomi Rapace as the female lead would not be the same, because she was so much an integral element of the original movies success.

In the meantime I listened to the audiobook version featuring Simon Vance, which I also found quite enjoyable. He does all the voices including Lisbeth with a slight Swedish accent that veers toward cockney. The story is much more detailed with many elements glossed over or left out of the original movie.

So, when I heard it was about to be released, and saw the trailer, and understood the pedigree behind this movie with David Fincher directing, and Daniel Craig as Blomquist, I made a point of going to the evening show before its official opening today.

Inevitably, one cannot help but compare with the previous experience. Definitely, the fact that this is in English is the greatest justification for the remake, so for many people who are distracted by subtitles this will automatically be a better experience.

Steven Zaillian, the screenwriter, previously won an Oscar for writing Schindlers List. From a storytelling point of view, it stays close to the original story, with much more detail, in that respect exceeding the original. In other respects too it exceeds the original. I particularly liked for example the soundtrack with its darker gothic metal tones by Trent Reznor, and the opening sequence with somewhat James Bond style imagery although darker, and I loved the storytelling.

This movie completes the full arc of the story, whereas I felt unclear in the original about the full circle story against Wennerstrom. This movie introduces the cat, and Cecilia Vanger as a character. We get to meet some of the characters we don't meet in the original.

David Fincher goes to great lengths not to have it be a remake, having each scene be somewhat different, so in only one scene did I have slight deja vu, which I appreciated. This movie is also raunchier, you'll know what I mean when you see it and focuses more on the relationship between Blomquist and Salander. It also has occasional humor. The scene where Michael is hunted shocked me in my seat, and there are several shocking scenes in the movie, including the crime against Lisabeth by her guardian. This is a harrowing scene as is the basement scene, although I felt that particular one was more harrowing in the original. In another movie, Zodiac, Fincher delivers one of the most suspenseful basement scenes ever when an investigative journalist is in the house of the suspected Zodiac killer.

Perhaps the single best thing about this version is that it captures the intention of the original author. Apparently, when Stieg Larson was a teenager he witnessed a gang rape of a teenage girl, and did not intervene to stop it. He was always troubled by this, second guessing his behavior, and worked as an independent investigative journalist, and this was partly his motivation for writing the Millenium Trilogy series which has now reportedly sold over 60 million copies, and the great visual art of 4 movies.

In fact, he gave the character Lisbeth the same first name as the original victim, so when Blomquist proposes to Lisbeth that she help him find a killer of women, one senses that Larson would be very pleased about this.

I liked also seeing Robin Wright as Blomquists partner, and while I still give the original movie the cool points for style and the visuals, I think many people will without my preconceptions warm to Rooney Mara who does give a great performance, in her unique way as this antisocial yet extremely resourceful and intelligent computer hacker.

I recommend it whether or not you have seen the original series. I also recommend you do check out the original series. If they do complete the rest of the trilogy, there will be opportunities in those movies to vastly outshine the originals, certainly if they include more detail from the books as they do here.

I think you will love it, and I hope this review was helpful.

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" is a 2011 North American movie. It is the second version of the adaptation of Stieg Larsson's novel "Män som hatar kvinnor", which means: Men Who Hate Women. It stars Daniel Craig as Mikael Blomkvist and Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander, it also has David Fincher ("Seven"; "Panic Room"; "Zodiac"; "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button") as director.

The movie starts with Mikael Blomkvist (a Swedish business journalist) exiting from a courthouse and being met by a group of journalists, who try to get some information about the libel case (i.e. defamation) Mikael has lost against Hans-Erik Wennerström, a Swedish entrepreneur.

After a while the other protagonist of the movie is introduced as Lisbeth Salander, an "employee" of Milton Security (a security firm) and the first impression we get of her is a very asocial (and apparently dysfunctional) woman. She is hired to do a background check on Mikael and when she is giving an oral report of the investigation to the employer, we get to see that even though she is legally incompetent she also has outstanding abilities to dig out and research everything about someone's life.

Anyway, so I don't spoil a lot surprises I'll keep it short. After the libel case Blomkvist is hired by Henrik Vanger (another Swedish entrepreneur) to investigate his niece's disappearance, which occurred a little less than forty years before. Again, to not give in many details, it's that same investigation that will involve murders and moments of extreme violence, and will connect the two main characters, Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist.

As for Rooney Mara, she plays Lisbeth flawlessly, reflecting on the screen a determined character, fitting the violent past she (the character, not the actress) has. She also is an unapproachable (i.e. hard to understand) person and so, fitting as a sort of guardian to the whole enterprise. On the other hand, Mikael (also played very well by Daniel Craig) is far more approachable and seems to be an odd but committed journalist.

Having read the novel just a few weeks before seeing the movie, throughout it I made constant comparisons, which revealed a movie so alike its original medium yet able to continuously capture my attention. It means that it was able to dump the boring parts, which aren't many (in the book, that is), but maintain most information. I would also like to mention that the beginning is a little cryptic and may not reveal as much as it should, and the end is different from that of the book, but is still quite good.

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" is a great movie and doesn't stray far from the original story (at least from what is important). It can be a little lengthy (something close to two and half hours), so there's a lot of time to develop the plot without rushing in (unlike so many blockbusters) while keeping an interesting pace.

Till next time,
M.I.T.H. (ManInsideTheHelm)

Although David Fincher's English-speaking remake is a superior film as cinema,the original made-for-TV Swedish film was rougher,more ragged,closer to the bone,the characters more threatened.The remake in Sweden stays true to the source,but has the jarring note of all the characters apart from Craig(Blomkvist) speaking with a Swedish accent. Rooney Mara captures a complexity of character-vulnerable,unhinged,sexy, detached,steely and feminine,losing the spikey brittleness and demonic energy of the original.This tale of rape-revenge as well as political thriller exposing Sweden's hidden history of fascism is superbly directed, smoothing out kinks and convolutions in the plot, streamlining the narrative,reducing psychology to data. When Salander, in a scene very late in the film, tells Blomkvist about her early life,it registers neither as a "revealing moment" nor as a glimpse into her "motivation," but as another datum.The opening credits a petrol-dripping kaleidoscope of bodies,flowers,keyboards,dragons to Led Zeppelin's `Immigrant Song', mimicing a James Bond opening,with Blomkvist played by the current Bond.But this new man is ultimately saved by Salander,who outclasses and dominates him.

At times the story seems on auto-pilot; the result is slick,funereally chilly:a movie about an investigativeprocess rather than a crime.In the Oplev version(2009),characters are uneasy,less confident, emotions are closer to the surface.Some heartfulness has been flushed out with the bathwater in Fincher's version despite Mara's fresh take on Salander.In Oplev's film we had the original(subtitled) Swedish and it captured the pulpy spirit of the bookbetter. In Fincher's film the cinematography and editing are excellent as are Trent Reznor's and Atticus Ros's score,a tissue of connective membrane for the dramatic information.We also get a superb cast of back-up actors: Plummer, Wright,Skarsgard,Berkoff,James and Richardson. In this film more than the original, the stories of Mikael and Lisbeth are kept separate for an extended period. We learn about the girl's state-appointed guardian (Yorick van Wageningen), who abused her, stole from her and terrorized her.Her attempts to avenge herself would make a movie of their own.When the two meet an hour in we are fully primed up as to their combined motivation,to identify the serial killer,as lovers.

Fincher and his team do a good job of setting out an intriguing story. Fincher has a distinct visual sensibility and a good sense of pacing, and the film derives much of its momentum from Mikael's sleuthing into the lives of the Vangers and Lisbeth's high-tech hacking, which passes the smell test more easily here than it did in Arden Oplev's version.We live vicariously through the two idealised central characters in a wish-fulfilment fantasy disguised as thriller.The irony is that of the two versions I prefer the awkward sincerity of the original.If you see subtitles, never ask for your money back!The original got there first.Here Mara is the elf at Christmas,Rapace the kabuki-demon.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Every bit as original and far more interesting.
Not many films are universally panned before filming has even begun, so the 2011 version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo had quite a hurdle of opposition to overcome. Read more

Published 7 days ago by Richard

4.0 out of 5 stars A pleasant surprise
Having seen the original Swedish movie and also read the book I was pleasantly surprised by the this English speaking version. Read more

Published 10 days ago by R. C. Harris

5.0 out of 5 stars as good as The Boys From Brazil!
Without wishing to sound like a philistine, I much prefered this version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to the original adaption. Read more

Published 17 days ago by nelson viper

1.0 out of 5 stars Typical Hollywooden Remake
This is yet another typically sad Hollywood-en remake. Don't bother. Go to the original Swedish version, instead. Far better. Read more

Published 23 days ago by B. Vallance

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Movie
Having read the trilogy and seen all three Swedish adaptations, I wasn't exactly thrilled when I heard Hollywood would be doing its own version of 'The Girl With the Dragon... Read more

Published 23 days ago by WASP234

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant
Having read the book and seen the Swedish version of this film, I knew how good the storyline was. I would say that the Swedish version is probably slightly better, certainly in... Read more

Published 23 days ago by S. Brown

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent suspense thriller
This is probably the best film in cinemas in January 2012. Although it's far-fetched it works, with a slow burn for the first hour as we begin to understand a family with a... Read more

Published 1 month ago by Mr. J. Carr

5.0 out of 5 stars Dark, electifying movie making
Most folk should be familiar with the story by now: disgraced left-wing journalist Mikael Blomkvist is hired by a wealthy industrialist to find out who killed his beloved niece 40... Read more

Published 1 month ago by Aidan J. McQuade

4.0 out of 5 stars Good film of a great book
"Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" (dir. Fincher) is a good film. Even though it is over 2 hours long, it really doesn't feel like it or drag too much, as even it was five hours long... Read more

Published 1 month ago by Mr. P. S. Haseldine

5.0 out of 5 stars fantastic remake of first film in dragon trilogy
just seen this remake and you wont see a better film this year very dark thriller about disgraced reporter investigating 40 year old
killings

Published 1 month ago by MISTERBLUESKYE

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