Review | The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Credit: Entertainment Pictures
Out Now
Us Rating: *** 1/2
"She's different in every way," explains Lisbeth Salander's employer as she darts into a meeting. That's an understatement. The brazenly bisexual, leather-clad, withdrawn title heroine -- brilliantly played by Rooney Mara in the breakout performance of the year -- is the mesmerizing center of this macabre thriller. Lisbeth, a 24-year-old orphan and assault victim, thrives in a self-insulated den of computer hacking. Her life gets shaken up when she's hired by a disgraced journalist (Daniel Craig, wisely muted) to help with an assignment: Investigate the 1966 disappearance of a wealthy businessman's niece.
As clues fall into place, director David Fincher turns a humdrum mystery (based on the bestseller) into a series of briskly paced jaw-droppers punctuated by extreme violence (beware the tattoo gun!). Even Lisbeth's microfiche session at a library brims with suspense, and the use of an ethereal Enya song to contrast a torture scene is an inspired touch. If only the adaptation didn't adhere so closely to the book's extended coda about Lisbeth's fieldwork; its an anticlimactic, warmed-over afterthought following two-plus hours of breathtaking chill.
Tell Us What You Think
1The original film, out just recently (1 or 2 years ago) is VERY strong. This remake is a bit more obvious, and while the lead actors are good, it feels a bit blunt and in places. The narrative is altered, and it weakens some of the most powerful dynamics of the original, esp in the rel between the lead characters. Nothing new here for those who have seen the original, and if I were to choose one to see, it would clearly be the first film (though I did like Craig and Mara)