The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

I walked into David Fincher's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo completely cold, having not read the books by the late Stieg Larsson, or seen the original Swedish film adaptation. Judging by other reviews I have read, this may be the best way to approach the film, as many reviews seem to lean too heavily on the novel or the foreign films. Having no preconceived expectations, I can say that this is a well made, but somewhat uneven film. On a technical level, the movie is flawless (as one would expect from Fincher), but I found the movie a little cold and distant on an emotional level. But then, I have a sneaking suspicion that this was intentional.

The story (adapted here by veteran screenwriter Steven Zaillian) is actually two different stories about two very different people. The first concerns a disgraced journalist named Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig), whose career has just fallen apart due to a libel suit around an article he wrote. It's around this time that he is invited to visit a wealthy old man named Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer), who hires him to investigate a family mystery, under the guise of doing research to write a biography about him. The mystery in question deals with the disappearance and suspected murder of a beloved niece over 40 years ago. Henrik believes that the killer responsible is someone within the family, and as Mikael accepts the job and begins digging into the Vanger family history, he suspects that the old man might be onto something. Most of the family members he interviews or questions seem to be very guarded or secretive. Even the ones that are more open to him can't seem to be fully trusted. The premise of Mikael being drawn into this decades-old unsolved mystery, trapped on an island with all these possibly distrustful or even murderous people is when the film is at its most suspenseful.

In the second plot, we are introduced to Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara), a bisexual goth girl who works as a computer hacker and researcher for hire, using her hacking skills to get information on anyone she's paid to investigate. Lisbeth has a complicated history of her own (which the movie is somewhat vague on, obviously saving it for the inevitable sequels), and due to her somewhat unstable and violent behavior, is under the care of a legal guardian. Unfortunately, her current legal guardian suffers a stroke, and she is placed under the watch of a crooked man who demands "sexual favors", including tying her to a bed and raping her. Lisbeth is able to get her revenge and escape from underneath the thumb of the man. It's at this point that Lisbeth is pulled into the plot concerning Mikael, when she is hired to help him dig up the complicated Vanger family history. The relationship that builds between Mikael and Lisbeth is a complicated one, built out of a business partnership, eventual respect, and then ultimately sexual.

You would think that the relationship between the two main characters would be fascinating, but I found it to easily be the most forgettable part of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Maybe something did not translate right from the page to the screen, but for me, a bigger problem was the fact that Craig and Mara, though they are both fine individually, never really created any strong chemistry in my eyes. Their relationship, and the path that it takes while they are working together, seems forced. It's almost as if the screenplay is hitting the highlights of the relationship from the original novel, but leaving out the stuff that comes in between. Like I said, I have not read the books, so I cannot judge. It's just how the relationship came across to me. Maybe the later books and films go deeper into the relationship, and help flesh it out a little more. I can only hope.

What works much better in the film, and what ultimately makes it a success, is the mystery that drives the plot. Fincher's last film, The Social Network, managed to take a subject that could have been technical and dull (in that film's case, the creation of Facebook), and turn it into a fascinating tale of jealousy and betrayal. Here, the mystery is mostly solved by digging up old photos and articles, which once again could have been very technical and dull, but Fincher and the script by Zaillian manages to keep the pace high as Mikhail and Lisbeth race about the island, bringing the past to light. The island itself actually becomes part of the mystery, as we are never sure just who to trust, and all the inhabitants don't seem to be very happy about their history being dug up by outsiders. There is a genuine sense of dread that the movie beautifully builds, and it's during these moments that the movie works the best.

What doesn't work is a lot of the stuff outside of the mystery. Until the two plots merged, I was not that involved with Lisbeth's story of being a victim to a cruel man, and then taking revenge on her. Yes, the violence during these sequences is quite shocking (although I hear they've been toned down considerably from the original Swedish film), but outside of that, I had a hard time caring about Lisbeth. This should not discredit Rooney Mara's performance, which manages to be quite subtle and quiet, with a lot of hidden strength, so we can believe it when she does suddenly lash out in violence or anger. I can't tell if something was missing, or if the script just did a poor job of drawing me in, but whenever the action would cut away from the mystery and focus on Lisbeth, the movie would kind of grind to a halt for me. I have a feeling this won't be a problem in future installments, but for now, I had a hard time being drawn into her plot.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I saw the movie. It's well acted, beautifully shot, and has a lot going for it. There are moments of intense power, and an intriguing mystery, surrounded by a lot of moments that just don't work as well as they should. Still, something tells me that Fincher is merely building up to something, and that the remaining two films will not only fill us in on some unanswered questions, but also be a lot stronger.

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