Starring: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Stellan Skarsgård, Robin Wright, Goran Visnjic and Christopher Plummer

Directed by: David Fincher

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo on Facebook

Like most of the world I came into The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo having done my homework. I was one of the kabillion people on the subway reading that all too familiar, all too horrible yellow-covered paperback of the book by Stieg Larsson. I was one of the kabillion people that read the books just as the adapted films from Sweden were hitting America. It was a magical era of the worldwide embracing of women empowerment mashed with Goth fetishism.

Ultimately this homework is what ruined the film for me because even though there was over a full year of time between having read the novel and seeing this adaptation, I found that the Americanization had little new to offer and the film read as a list of bullet points instead of a fresh take on a familiar adventure. I’ve given The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo a rating but because I did my homework and can’t judge the film on its own, I have no business doing so.

Being this familiar with the subject I soon found myself in a game of managing my expectations. What could we expect and what would this new version offer that the others couldn’t? David Fincher’s perspective is invaluable; The welcome return of Trent Reznor, an Oscar winner for their last collaboration The Social Network; The performances were being praised, specifically that of Rooney Mara as the titular “Girl� Lisbeth Salander; And these things would need to be good because… frankly, the story isn’t.

Don’t get me wrong. I like the plot well enough (of an old Swedish entrepreneur recruiting a sketchy reporter to investigate the decades old disappearance of his grand-niece) and I got wrapped up in it as much as anyone, but like any good story my connection to it probably had more to do with the characters inhabiting it then the story itself. Seriously, without going in to spoilers, this is basically an episode of Law & Order: Sweden. Simple premise, a handful of red herrings and, (Oh my stars!) a twist. It’s fun but it’s not going to blow your mind. Because of that, every other element needs to be stepped up and as much as I was rooting for it, Fincher’s Dragon Tattoo doesn’t fly.

When I heard of the plans for director David Fincher to adapt Dragon Tattoo for English-speaking audiences I thought, at very least, he would bring a style to it that was unique to him. No matter how many times a story is retold or reimagined an artist like Fincher can always add his own spin. We’re talking about the guy that flew us down the sweat of Ed Norton’s nose and between the handle of a teapot just to set the mood. Whether you’d call those gimmicks or not, the guy is an adventurous filmmaker that looks at the world like no one else does. So even though I’d been down this road I was excited to see what his version of the road would look like.

Turns out… it’s not all that different. The problem is that there’s so much plot to cover that there’s no real opportunity to get creative. The setting is the same, the structure is the same, even the main characters look the same. Fincher crosses off his checklist and moves on. For the most part anyway. There is definitely a familiar Fincher tone (including a koo-koo-banannas Bond-like opening sequence) and one could argue he’s letting the performers take center stage over his own aesthetic. That’s a lazy argument though.

Those performances are thankfully quite good. Mara embraces Lisbeth and makes her very much her own. Lisbeth is broad and terrifying as a character. It’s a performance that requires as much subtlety in her restraint as it does ferociousness in her chaos. (Now watch, this is cruel but I’ll give with one hand and slap away with the other) I think you could give as much credit to the character as the performer though. Lisbeth is like the Joker - a role just waiting to be exploited, over-performed and run away with. You can get away with that because she’s easily the most interesting thing going on in the film. As good as Mara is, Lisbeth is the kind of written character that makes everyone better. Presumably. I don’t mean to undercut a fine performance as much as I am.

The one thing that distinguished itself from the other incarnations of the Dragon Tattoo is the rape scene. I can’t pinpoint why but it was particularly horrible this time around. The written word can always be diluted by one’s own mind’s eye and maybe Swedish filmmakers exercise the art of subtlety more than most (not really) but this version was brutal. Really difficult to watch as it probably should be. It’s one of the more important moments in the story in terms of setting up Lisbeth’s revenge and her arc against misogyny. It’s unsettling and difficult to get through. In that respect it makes the right impact.

My favorite part of the book was the idea of investigating a missing person through documents and photos. There’s a part of the book where Daniel Craig’s character Blomkvist comes across a series of photos from a parade where the missing girl responds to something just off camera. The series of photos act almost like a moving image themselves. It’s a haunting feeling. Almost like a ghost telling you their story from beyond the grave. I love that and I think Fincher is able to capture it well. These as well as narrated flashbacks from the great Christopher Plummer (underused but still fantastic here) are stand out moments in the storytelling for me.

I think that this version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo tells the story well, offers the appropriate level of adventure, sexuality and intrigue. And that’s great. But is it enough? We have that already. Do we need it in English? If it’s given to us are we wrong to hope for something superior?

The silver lining is that there are two more chances for greatness in the novel’s sequels. The Swedish adaptations of The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest are not as well regarded as the original so there’s ample opportunity to outshine and surpass. At the same time there were reports recently of the studio taking a bit of a loss on Fincher’s adaptation and the sequels are said to be being scaled back a little. Whatever. Money is important but cheap never means inferior. I’m looking forward to the future of the franchise, hoping to go in knowing and expecting much less than I was this time around.

C2E2 is fast approaching. Phil and I will be there. I’m excited because we’re testing out posters for the first time. I had a great time last week putting together the two posters of Zombie Fozzie and Katniss from The Hunger Games. I’m curious (and a little scared) to see how they’ll sell. If you’re headed to the show and you’re interested in one, let me know and I’ll set one aside for you.

Thanks for stopping by!