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After breaking into the business by directing music videos—and making a name for himself by directing dark, gritty thrillers like Se7en and Fight Club—director David Fincher seems to have gotten a bit sidetracked for a few years. Of course, that’s not to say that his recent films haven’t been extraordinary films. After all, they’ve even gotten him back-to-back Oscar nods. But there was just something slightly…un-Fincher-like about a Facebook tell-all and a fantastical drama. But now, after a few years of drama, he’s returned to his roots for an appropriately edgy remake of the Swedish thriller (based on the best-selling novel by Stieg Larsson), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
Daniel Craig stars as Mikael Blomkvist, a Stockholm journalist who’s just been convicted of libel—though he’s convinced it was a set-up. About to lose everything he has, he’s looking for an escape, which comes from industrial giant Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer), who hires Blomkvist to solve the 40-year-old murder of his beloved niece.
Meanwhile, as Blomkvist digs into the Vanger family’s deepest, darkest secrets, troubled young hacker Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) investigates him. Originally hired to do a background check on the disgraced journalist, she becomes fascinated by Blomkvist and his story.
When Blomkvist decides that he needs help with the Vanger case, he’s introduced to the pierced, tattooed hacker—and the two begin a powerful partnership.
If you’ve seen the original Swedish version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, you won’t find many surprises in the remake. There are some subtle differences in the story—especially in the end—but the edgy, sinister tone stays true to the original. It’s dark and disturbing—and it’s certainly not for the squeamish—which makes it the perfect project for Fincher. No other director can make ugliness and violence look so artistic—and after just a few seconds of the opening title sequence (which looks like something from an incredibly oily James Bond movie), you’ll be sold. Fincher has a solid grasp on the grittiness of the material—and his direction, paired with another industrial score by Oscar-winning duo Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, gives the film its eerie atmosphere.
The film may be long—over two and a half hours long, in fact—but the artful interweaving of the characters’ bleak and mysterious stories makes the time speed by. And although I had my reservations about the new cast, Fincher managed to assemble a convincing ensemble. Craig gives the same kind of strong but silent performance that Michael Nyqvist did in the original—and Mara’s transformation into the cold and distant hacker is impressive. Granted, she isn’t quite able to fill Noomi Rapace’s boots, but she makes the character believable.
At the same time, the supporting characters—like Plummer as the loving uncle who truly despises most of his family members—add interest, filling the film with eccentric personalities that might make you appreciate your own dysfunctional family just a little bit more.
I’m still not convinced that The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo needed to be remade—but Fincher and his cast do Larsson’s story justice. It may not be a particularly light and uplifting way to spend the holidays, but if you’re feeling a little bit dark and disturbed after a few too many family get-togethers, it’s a welcome escape.
