The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Writer: Steven Zaillian
Director: David Fincher
Starring: Rooney Mara, Daniel Craig and Christopher Plummer
Director: David Fincher
Starring: Rooney Mara, Daniel Craig and Christopher Plummer
I have neither read nor seen the original Swedish versions of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo story, instead approaching this film with the expectations that come with the name David Fincher. From last year’s The Social Network to Fight Club, Fincher has made some of my favourite films of all time and is undoubtedly one of the finest directors working today. Dragon Tattoo is a film which completes his serial killer trilogy of which the other two are Seven and Zodiac. The story focuses on a disgraced journalist (Daniel Craig) who is offered a job, which offers him both privacy and the chance for revenge towards the man emptying his pockets. The job involves going to a snow drenched, isolated island, under the guise of writing a memoir to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a girl forty years prior.
Upon his arrival, he discovers a family whose conversations to each other are more silent than “The Artist” and who have more than their fair share of skeletons in the closet. In need of a research assistant, he crosses paths with the girl with the dragon tattoo herself, Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) a woman who is described as different in every way, a cross between the socially inept intellect of Mark Zuckerberg and the so what attitude of Tyler Durden. Together they embark on an investigation that will unearth secrets of abuse and deception, long buried in the Swedish snow.
This film opens with a title sequence that is perhaps the closest David Fincher will come to making a James Bond film. It is a sequence that both enthralls yet unsettles and completely sucks you into the disturbing, off putting nature of some of the film’s later scenes. With Karen O’s cover of Immigrant Song, which accompanied the film’s superb trailer, partnering this sequence of oil, fire and wires, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in its first three minutes sets a high bar in terms of excitement, tension and visual invention. Like the opening credits to Seven, this is a sequence, which may go down in modern film history and suggests a similar style to that film. What follows is a mash-up of both of Fincher’s prior serial killer movies, snow comes in for Seven’s rain, biblical verses for Seven’s seven deadly sins and another long unresolved murder mystery substituting for the real and still chillingly unresolved Zodiac case.
It is obvious why Fincher was chosen for this material based on those two films of a similar nature both in style and substance, as well as the way he meticulously makes the mundane memorable. The majority of the Dragon Tattoo investigation consists of people reading files, typing away at computers and analyzing photos. Just how Fincher used quick Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall editing, as well as a pulsating score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross to make the scenes of hacking in The Social Network comparable to the excitement of an action scene, the same technique is used to similar effect here. It is clear through Reznor and Ross that Fincher has found his composers of choice. Their score perfectly permeates the film, accompanying the moody yet beautiful Jeff Cronenweth cinematography in constructing a deliciously dark atmosphere.
Like the score for Social Network, it is one that will live long after the credits have rolled in the ipods of film and music fans around the world. The album itself is a complete different piece of creative genius outside of the film, with three hours worth of droning, electric, piano, percussion based beats that should heighten the intensity of day-to-day activities. One of the main talking points of this film has been Rooney Mara, who gives what is arguably the most physically transformative performance of the year to play Lisbeth Salander. Mara is a million miles away from being the cute girlfriend at the start of The Social Network and is unrecognizable in every aspect in this film. Not only is she different through the changes to her hair and body, there is something different not just in her voice but in her eyes that suggest that Mara has immersed herself into this role with a level of dedication that surely delighted David Fincher. This is a performance that suggests a very bright future indeed for Rooney Mara and I look forward to seeing the performances she gives outside of the Dragon Tattoo series.
One of the more surprising performances of the film came from Daniel Craig. In this film he is far away from the James Bond image and I infact did not think about him as Bond once while he was on screen, well maybe once...As Mikael he gives a very understated performance that allows Mara to take the spotlight. Craig is incredibly convincing however and he anchored the film well in the film’s opening movement when Mara took more of a back seat. It was a nice change of pace for him in relation to the mainstream roles he has been taking since Bond and indicate that he may have a more successful post Bond career than most as he was not originally cast for a Bond like appearance and has shown that he can convincingly pull of, non Bond like roles.
David Fincher knows how to keep a story engaging, moving around his performances, music and snow filled shots like pieces on a chessboard. If Craig and Mara are his king and queen, then Steven Zaillian’s script is his rook and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross his bishops. Mara and Craig command the board, taking centre stage, while the music of Reznor and Ross cuts through the piece in unexpected ways, sometimes taking opposite directions to the rest of the piece. It is through the more stationery in its movement, labored screenplay where Dragon Tattoo is at its weakest, as Fincher has material, which doesn’t quite live up to the way in which he handles it.
The “mystery” behind The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is one that is disappointingly simple, shallow and predictable. It is obvious from the second he or she is introduced who the killer is and while I could have lived with that, had we been given something special, revelatory, emotionally affecting, memorable or disturbing to go along with the reveal and motive then I could have accepted it, sadly there was no such thing. The film also has a post case ending movement that I could have really lived without. It just seemed so unnecessary, bloating the film and akin to a piece of fat on the edge of a nice piece of meat. In my view a film has to have a really good reason for extending its running time beyond two hours, Dragon Tattoo does not. While for the entire running time I was not bored for a second, which is a huge compliment, not all of it seemed necessary to the story or the characters.
Fincher and co. should have been much more ruthless in regards to the writing and editing of this film, even though I have no book to compare it to, it felt like they were being slavish to that, rather than creating their own, unique story. Even though one of the twists did surprise me, I felt like both the twists in the tale could have been better executed, as both seemed fumbled with expositional dialogue, which would have been stronger with more of a visual explanation. Without going into spoiler territory, I wanted to see, even briefly, the influence one person had in creating the killer rather than being told it, I wanted to see again even briefly, another character constructing and coming to grips with a new life. These are small things, which could have enhanced the satisfaction of the story, as while I am not somebody who needs to know and see everything, it did feel as if the audience had gone on this investigation with little reward of both a substantial and satisfying nature. The journey went on too long and the destination was over before it began.
At two hours and forty minutes it is also odd that one huge element of the narrative felt rushed to me. The relationship between Mikael and Lisbeth did seem to really come out of nowhere. I understand why the Lisbeth character would be attracted to the Mikael character, however there could have been more development behind their relationship and Lisbeth’s affection for him. It just seemed like it went from them working on a case to having sex and back to the case, without any emotional or meaningful contextualization. I find this a big flaw with the film as it also undermines what could have been a much more tragic and emotionally affecting final scene, a final scene which I thought was a perfect note upon which to end the story.
Overall the more I was separated from my initial viewing experience of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the less highly I thought of its story. The film kept me gripped for its entire running time, I love the score, admired the film making craft, thought the performances were great and really look forward to seeing the next chapter in the tale, however a second time around, I hope there is a better story which can make the most of those elements. Dragon Tattoo is a good film and for many other directors would probably be a career best, however in the works of David Fincher, this has to go down as one of his more disappointing efforts. Next time around he needs to take more of a Lisbeth Salander approach than a Mikael Blomkvistk approach.
Upon his arrival, he discovers a family whose conversations to each other are more silent than “The Artist” and who have more than their fair share of skeletons in the closet. In need of a research assistant, he crosses paths with the girl with the dragon tattoo herself, Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) a woman who is described as different in every way, a cross between the socially inept intellect of Mark Zuckerberg and the so what attitude of Tyler Durden. Together they embark on an investigation that will unearth secrets of abuse and deception, long buried in the Swedish snow.
This film opens with a title sequence that is perhaps the closest David Fincher will come to making a James Bond film. It is a sequence that both enthralls yet unsettles and completely sucks you into the disturbing, off putting nature of some of the film’s later scenes. With Karen O’s cover of Immigrant Song, which accompanied the film’s superb trailer, partnering this sequence of oil, fire and wires, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in its first three minutes sets a high bar in terms of excitement, tension and visual invention. Like the opening credits to Seven, this is a sequence, which may go down in modern film history and suggests a similar style to that film. What follows is a mash-up of both of Fincher’s prior serial killer movies, snow comes in for Seven’s rain, biblical verses for Seven’s seven deadly sins and another long unresolved murder mystery substituting for the real and still chillingly unresolved Zodiac case.
It is obvious why Fincher was chosen for this material based on those two films of a similar nature both in style and substance, as well as the way he meticulously makes the mundane memorable. The majority of the Dragon Tattoo investigation consists of people reading files, typing away at computers and analyzing photos. Just how Fincher used quick Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall editing, as well as a pulsating score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross to make the scenes of hacking in The Social Network comparable to the excitement of an action scene, the same technique is used to similar effect here. It is clear through Reznor and Ross that Fincher has found his composers of choice. Their score perfectly permeates the film, accompanying the moody yet beautiful Jeff Cronenweth cinematography in constructing a deliciously dark atmosphere.
Like the score for Social Network, it is one that will live long after the credits have rolled in the ipods of film and music fans around the world. The album itself is a complete different piece of creative genius outside of the film, with three hours worth of droning, electric, piano, percussion based beats that should heighten the intensity of day-to-day activities. One of the main talking points of this film has been Rooney Mara, who gives what is arguably the most physically transformative performance of the year to play Lisbeth Salander. Mara is a million miles away from being the cute girlfriend at the start of The Social Network and is unrecognizable in every aspect in this film. Not only is she different through the changes to her hair and body, there is something different not just in her voice but in her eyes that suggest that Mara has immersed herself into this role with a level of dedication that surely delighted David Fincher. This is a performance that suggests a very bright future indeed for Rooney Mara and I look forward to seeing the performances she gives outside of the Dragon Tattoo series.
One of the more surprising performances of the film came from Daniel Craig. In this film he is far away from the James Bond image and I infact did not think about him as Bond once while he was on screen, well maybe once...As Mikael he gives a very understated performance that allows Mara to take the spotlight. Craig is incredibly convincing however and he anchored the film well in the film’s opening movement when Mara took more of a back seat. It was a nice change of pace for him in relation to the mainstream roles he has been taking since Bond and indicate that he may have a more successful post Bond career than most as he was not originally cast for a Bond like appearance and has shown that he can convincingly pull of, non Bond like roles.
David Fincher knows how to keep a story engaging, moving around his performances, music and snow filled shots like pieces on a chessboard. If Craig and Mara are his king and queen, then Steven Zaillian’s script is his rook and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross his bishops. Mara and Craig command the board, taking centre stage, while the music of Reznor and Ross cuts through the piece in unexpected ways, sometimes taking opposite directions to the rest of the piece. It is through the more stationery in its movement, labored screenplay where Dragon Tattoo is at its weakest, as Fincher has material, which doesn’t quite live up to the way in which he handles it.
The “mystery” behind The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is one that is disappointingly simple, shallow and predictable. It is obvious from the second he or she is introduced who the killer is and while I could have lived with that, had we been given something special, revelatory, emotionally affecting, memorable or disturbing to go along with the reveal and motive then I could have accepted it, sadly there was no such thing. The film also has a post case ending movement that I could have really lived without. It just seemed so unnecessary, bloating the film and akin to a piece of fat on the edge of a nice piece of meat. In my view a film has to have a really good reason for extending its running time beyond two hours, Dragon Tattoo does not. While for the entire running time I was not bored for a second, which is a huge compliment, not all of it seemed necessary to the story or the characters.
Fincher and co. should have been much more ruthless in regards to the writing and editing of this film, even though I have no book to compare it to, it felt like they were being slavish to that, rather than creating their own, unique story. Even though one of the twists did surprise me, I felt like both the twists in the tale could have been better executed, as both seemed fumbled with expositional dialogue, which would have been stronger with more of a visual explanation. Without going into spoiler territory, I wanted to see, even briefly, the influence one person had in creating the killer rather than being told it, I wanted to see again even briefly, another character constructing and coming to grips with a new life. These are small things, which could have enhanced the satisfaction of the story, as while I am not somebody who needs to know and see everything, it did feel as if the audience had gone on this investigation with little reward of both a substantial and satisfying nature. The journey went on too long and the destination was over before it began.
At two hours and forty minutes it is also odd that one huge element of the narrative felt rushed to me. The relationship between Mikael and Lisbeth did seem to really come out of nowhere. I understand why the Lisbeth character would be attracted to the Mikael character, however there could have been more development behind their relationship and Lisbeth’s affection for him. It just seemed like it went from them working on a case to having sex and back to the case, without any emotional or meaningful contextualization. I find this a big flaw with the film as it also undermines what could have been a much more tragic and emotionally affecting final scene, a final scene which I thought was a perfect note upon which to end the story.
Overall the more I was separated from my initial viewing experience of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the less highly I thought of its story. The film kept me gripped for its entire running time, I love the score, admired the film making craft, thought the performances were great and really look forward to seeing the next chapter in the tale, however a second time around, I hope there is a better story which can make the most of those elements. Dragon Tattoo is a good film and for many other directors would probably be a career best, however in the works of David Fincher, this has to go down as one of his more disappointing efforts. Next time around he needs to take more of a Lisbeth Salander approach than a Mikael Blomkvistk approach.
Summary:
An average, shallow, predictable, rushed yet overly long story means that despite the direction, score, performances and cinematography, this is one of Fincher’s weaker and perhaps in the long run, less memorable efforts.
Rating: 7/10
By Movie Parliament Prime Minister,
Michael Dalton
If you want to read a spoiler filled review with more comparisons to the original source material click here, to read Tommy D’s guest review of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. You can check out his other reviews by visiting his site by clicking here.
Disagree with this review? Give us your thoughts on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in the Your Say section.
Rating: 7/10
By Movie Parliament Prime Minister,
Michael Dalton
If you want to read a spoiler filled review with more comparisons to the original source material click here, to read Tommy D’s guest review of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. You can check out his other reviews by visiting his site by clicking here.
Disagree with this review? Give us your thoughts on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in the Your Say section.
Your Say on "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
Tommy D says "I can see where you're coming from in your Dragon Tattoo review. The identity of the killer seems more obvious in the movie because it's a bigger-name actor. The book does contain a few more details and minor storylines that cloud your thinking a little bit more, thus making the reveal more of a surprise. Still, I thought this was a fairly faithful adaptation of Larsson's source material. I've heard from many people that they didn't like the extra half hour of events that took place after the climax, but that was exactly how the book was, and it provided adequate closure to the whole Wennerstrom affair and to the current state of Lisbeth's and Mikael's relationship.
This is one of those rare films where I think that people who read the book will actually like it MORE than people who didn't. The reason for this is that there are so many extra plot elements that might seem needless in a film but that somehow fit nicely in the novel, and to see many of them come to life on the big screen was a treat.
Dragon Tattoo isn't quite as good as Se7en or Fight Club, but I actually would rank it pretty highly with Fincher's other works, right there with The Social Network and Zodiac. He is a very gifted director who made computer investigations actually seem interesting."
This is one of those rare films where I think that people who read the book will actually like it MORE than people who didn't. The reason for this is that there are so many extra plot elements that might seem needless in a film but that somehow fit nicely in the novel, and to see many of them come to life on the big screen was a treat.
Dragon Tattoo isn't quite as good as Se7en or Fight Club, but I actually would rank it pretty highly with Fincher's other works, right there with The Social Network and Zodiac. He is a very gifted director who made computer investigations actually seem interesting."
