The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011)

 Rooney Mara, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011)

 

Directed by: David Fincher
Starring: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgård, Robin Wright

Disclaimer: Before you read this review, know that I haven't actually read the novelized version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo that this is based off of, or seen the European film of the same name that it is undoubtedly being compared to. This review is me, as a movie-watcher, explaining to you why you're going to absolutely love this film. And yes, you will absolutely love it.

Last year, those who saw David Fincher's most recent project, The Social Network, probably became enchanted by a minor character named Erica Albright, a character that might have been completely made up for the purpose of furthering the narrative that Fincher and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin were attempting to convey. However, Erica was one of the few characters that we, as an audience, could relate to. Put simply, she's us, and a young actress named Rooney Mara takes the role, and uses that relation to get us to sympathize with her. And we don't forget her; especially not after her famous line, the one that ends the opening scene between she and Mark:

"You're going to go through life thinking that girls don't want to date you because you're a nerd. And I want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, that that isn't true. It'll be because you're an asshole."

Well, this year, Fincher and Mara are teaming up again, but this time, Mara's got the starring role -- she plays Lisbeth Salander, the heroine of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. But Salander is so different from Erica that we can barely recognize Mara in the part. She's got piercings all over the place, most of which are real piercings the actress got in preparation for the role, and of course, she's got that large tattoo of a dragon splayed out across her back, as you can see above.

But it isn't just the physical transformation that's impressive -- it's literally everything. Mara has transformed herself into Salander. It is, of course, notable that out of all of the actors in the film, Mara's Swedish accent is not only the best, but the most consistent. The others, except for maybe Christopher Plummer, seem to have trouble with the dialect. This is especially evident with Daniel Craig, who portrays the film's leading male, Mikael Blomkvist. Craig, it seems, is not a man for his accents -- whether it's his valiant attempts at Swedish in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo or his try at German in Defiance, he seems prone to slipping into his British. Maybe you should go watch The Reader and take lessons from Kate Winslet, sir.

That's not to say Daniel Craig's performance is without merit; no, that would be a flat out lie. Aside from the accent mishap, Craig's Blomkvist is downright good. He's completely believable as a journalist who has basically just gotten done being crucified by the country he's working so hard to protect, if at times a little stiff. There are moments when he seems to be playing the action hero; and certainly, Craig's experience as an action hero in films like the James Bond series helps out a lot when it gets to some more action-heavy sequences. For some reason, the world can just never get enough of seeing Daniel Craig being held hostage and beaten to a pulp.

The action sequences themselves are also to die for. Though they might be a bit few and far between to market this as an action-adventure film -- suspense thriller is more like it -- they are there, and they are intense. But parents, be warned: this film is not something to take the family to, and not just because a few cars explode. No; there are two particular scenes involving Salander and a supporting character that will leave you shaking in your boots. Those, and the various love scenes that accompany the gritty "love story" subplot, definitely earn this film its R rating.

At times, though, the film can seem like it's an action-adventure movie -- it isn't that it's overloaded with action sequences, or anything like that. It's just that at moments, it feels like the movie's a bit rushed. As if the filmmakers feel like they had to fit everything into the three-hour timespan that the movie nearly fills up. The first few scenes, which I know in the book are both several pages long, last for no more than twenty to thirty seconds each, providing us with a haphazard introduction to the characters and conflicts that we're going to need to know. The film relies, instead, on Mara's character to introduce us to Mikael and his recent legal troubles. It's a bit too much tell and not enough show for my taste, but of course, there's also the argument that Mara, in the end, is far more compelling, and any excuse to give her more screentime should be taken.

So it's not the best movie of the year. No big deal. It's still pretty darn great, and completely deserving of all the acclaim it's getting. Mara, in particular, has been noticed by the Golden Globe Awards, which have nominated her for Best Performance By An Actress In a Motion Picture -- Drama. Unfortunately, the likelihood of her winning is decreased by the fantastic conglomeration of ladies she's up against -- Meryl Streep, Tilda Swinton, and Viola Davis among them -- and she probably won't make the cut at the Academy Awards, either.

As far as other awards go, don't look for Daniel Craig to get any big awards buzz; and Christopher Plummer, magnificent as he may be in this film, pretty much already has his spot locked in the Best Supporting Actor category for another film, Beginners. It looks like David Fincher will once again be snubbed for Best Director at the Oscars (he lost to The King's Speech's Tom Hooper last year) and the odds are not in the film's favor as far as Best Picture nominations go. However, it could happen, right?

So while you shouldn't be looking for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo to take home any awards this year, this is definitely something you want to spend money going to see at the theatres. If only because the world needs to see Rooney Mara in the next two installments, which won't happen if Dragon Tattoo doesn't fare well at the box office.

Final Rating: 8.7/10
Notable Performance: Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander