The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (30 December 2011)

[David Fincher 2010]

Stieg Larsson’s Swedish trilogy about the eccentric, highly intelligent, computer hacking, confident and totally independent woman who becomes befriended by a journalist when he is hired by a former corporate company founder to investigate the historical disappearance of his granddaughter – has already been filmed in the Swedish language. The three books were filmed in 2009 and released the same year in Britain. The popularity of the books worldwide meant that it would not be long before the American studios decided to to make a version that meant that it could be seen without having to spend nearly three hours reading subtitles. On this occasion, the remake is justified for that reason. It is unfair to compare the two films simply because they both follow the story in all its complexities without deviation, apart from one (possibly important) detail at the end of David Fincher’s film. If you read the book, and I strongly advise you to read the book, you will spot it easily.

The lead male character in the story, Mikael Blomkvist, played by Daniel Craig has lost a major court case when the subject of an article he has published sues him for libel. His investigative journalistic qualities come to the attention of the founding non-executive of a corporate company who is desperate to find out what happened to his granddaughter who had disappeared some twenty years previously and on whose anniversary he receives a mysterious framed flower. To assist him, the subject of the title, Lisbeth Salander, who is working part time as an investigator with a private security firm, is recruited because of her extraordinary ability in discovering background information on Blomkvist for his new employers.  Salander is played by Rooney Mara and both she and Craig deliver excellent performances in the roles of the key players in the story. Although there are times when you recall Craig in his role as James Bond, his Blomkvist is a far superior part for him to play.

The reason why the book should be read before seeing the film is because it is so complicated to follow on screen alone and the challenge is to be able to understand the subtlety of the twists and turns as they unfold on the screen, thus leaving the viewer with confusion on occasions with regard to the complexities of the family history. The details of the family history are crucial to the story behind the girl’s disappearance and the book reader is able to linger on these at a slower speed. The film does not do justice to the family members and we meet them only too briefly. Only the one family member, who we discover is behind the reason for the granddaughter’s disappearance, is given this opportunity of in depth treatment and this is at the end when his true nature is uncovered in terrifying detail. This particular sequence keeps you on the edge of your seat with the fear he creates.

The title of the book when it was published in Sweden was The Woman Who Hates Men and as Lisbeth Salander unfolds her own part of the story in the film, the purpose behind the title is revealed. Rooney Mara acts the part superbly on the screen without going beyond exactly what we understood in the book. The visualisation of the sexual violence she experiences is offered without exaggeration, and although a real challenge to sit through, is noted for it’s lack of gratuity and titillation. This is a long film of a long book which David Fincher completed with integrity. It felt Swedish and the non-Swedish actors worked hard to sustain quasi Swedish accents. Even the IKEA style interiors gave it an aura of authenticity.