Rooney dons her new tattoo

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Director David Fincher Screenwriters Steven Zaillian, Stieg Larsson (novel) Cast Rooney Mara, Daniel Craig, Christopher Plummer, Robin Wright

Set in Sweden, the plot revolves around disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Craig) and 23-year-old hacker Lisbeth Salander (Mara). Diagnosed as mentally incompetent as a child, Salander is a Ward of the State who has, in her short life, been subjected to all manners of physical and mental abuse. Mikael Blomkvist is hired by Henrik Vanger (Plummer), former CEO of a large corporation, to solve the four decade long mystery of the death of his niece. Reluctant at first, Blomkvist finally accepts the job and moves out to the small town of Hedestad, where he is later on joined in his investigation by Lisbeth. What follows is a truly harrowing tale of murder and deceit.

David Fincher, well known for his psychological thrillers dealing with mass-murderers (Se7en, Zodiac), is really in his element with this film. Following his Oscar nominated The Social Network from last year he manages to again direct an amazing movie. The opening title sequence alone makes it clear that the next 2.5 hours are going to be equal parts uncomfortable and on-the-edge-of-your-seat exciting to watch. Filmed on location in Sweden, this adaptation is fast-paced and gripping from start to finish.

Much like Natalie Portman’s performance in Black Swan, Mara’s portrayal of goth hacker Lisbeth is a fine example of total character embodiment. This little known actress, probably best known as the girl who dumps Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network is the perfect fit physically, but has also turned out be perfect in her acting. While the true complexity of Lisbeth’s character only becomes fully apparent in the future novels, Mara still manages to beautifully capture both Lisbeth’s rough exterior and her vulnerability. Her dedication to this role is demonstrated in her willingness to cut and dye her hair, and by suffering through a number of piercings. It would be easy to turn Lisbeth into a stereotype, but she keeps surprising viewers at every turn and I’m excited to see what Mara has up her sleeve for the next two films.

The casting of Craig as Mikael Blomkvist was also initially a surprise, but he does a fine job of breathing life into the character. He’s a far-cry from the suave James Bond, but then it’s not right to try and compare those two characters. Craig never really has a chance to show-off his acting skills, as every scene is stolen by Mara and her much more complicated character. Also, despite his reasoning of Blomkvist not necessarily having a Swedish accent because he’d lived abroad, sounds like laziness and makes him the only cast member without an accent.

In terms of book-to-movie adaptation, the American version is almost perfect, with only a few changes that don’t take anything away from the viewing pleasure of people who have read the books. The book itself was difficult because of the subject matter and I’m glad the Hollywood version didn’t gloss over the more extreme scenes. People who are familiar with Fincher’s work won’t be shocked by how graphic and violent this movie is. This is not an easy movie, but I found it highly enjoyable and have already seen it twice. It’s not necessary to have read the books before watching it, but I would recommend reading them to gain a fuller appreciation of the characters and story that Stieg Larsson created.

Many critics have said that they do not understand why it was necessary to make a Hollywood version, but great stories can be told again and again, and Lisbeth’s story is a great one. This truly is a stunning, thought-provoking film and makes a nice change from the usual, naïve Hollywood flicks.