Zack Gill
Arts Editor
Sometimes, characters jump off the screen and cannot help being exponentially more compelling than the material they derive from. “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” is among the finest examples of this to date.
Lisbeth Salander, the brilliant, asocial computer hacker punk, is one of the most vibrant and colorful characters of modern cinema. It is a shame that the film that contains her, David Fincher’s latest thriller “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” doesn’t contain as nearly an interesting story to put her through.
Based on the already-adapted Swedish thriller novel, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” features two main characters: Mikael Blomqvist (Daniel Craig), the renegade journalist struck with a libel suit from a mega conglomerate after a particularly scandalous story, and Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara), the genius woman hired to investigate him for Vangar (Christopher Plummer).
Vangar, an ultra-rich steel tycoon, is haunted by the murder of his young niece, Harriet, which occurred decades before. Vangar hires Blomqvist to finally figure out what happened to her, and Blomqvist teams up with Salander to investigate the rest of Vanger’s family, like the well to do, rather modern Martin (Stellan Skarsgard).
The story sounds a lot more interesting than it actually is. Long stretches of the film feature Blomqvist simply flipping through photographs to further his investigation. Audiences will remain engaged in the film during its duration, but afterwards will reflect upon it and realize that much of its two-and-a-half hour run-time is filled with trivialities and bloat.
There is a reason the film is called “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” and not “Vanger’s Secret”. Lisbeth Salander is, by far, the most fascinating part of the film. Tough-yet-vulnerable, damaged-yet-sensible, cold-yet-kindhearted, Rooney Mara admirably portrays a walking set of contradictions in what is one of the best performances of the year.
The film features the typical stellar photography from Fincher and recurring cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth (“Fight Club,” “The Social Network”). Grim visuals match the rather lurid subject matter of the story and the cold vistas of its setting, Sweden. Smooth, uninterrupted shots add much-needed tension to the often rather dry action.
Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor and accomplice Atticus Ross return after their Oscar-winning collaboration on “The Social Network” to score “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” Once again, their score is stunning. More atmospheric and considerably darker than “The Social Network” score, Reznor and Ross’ musical contributions to “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” are integral to its stylistic and textural identity, and are once again Oscar-caliber.
Olivia D’Abo’s character in Noah Baumbach’s film “Kicking and Screaming” criticizes the trivialities of another character’s short story by saying that she finds “All the effort put into Saturday morning cartoons depressing.” The same surmise could be made towards Finchers “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” There is so much artistry and skill put into every facet of the film-making, but ultimately, the story itself is mediocre.
And that is certainly not Fincher’s fault and probably not screenwriter Steve Zaillian’s fault either. Rather, the blame must fall onto Stieg Larsson’s original source material, the “Millennium Trilogy,” for all of its cynicism, misplaced grandeur, and poor pacing.
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” is worth seeing to watch the best filmmaker at work today do what he does best. However, do not go in expecting the most compelling mystery of all time. “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” is rated R and is playing in theatres nationwide.
Leave a Reply