The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, dir. David Fincher
Below are some very brief thoughts on the film. For an interesting and in-depth discussion, you may wish to check out the excellent /filmcast episode dedicated to the film.
David Fincher’s adaptation of the best selling novel by Stieg Larrson improves on the Swedish version of the film, but does little to overcome or change the problems with the source material.
The biggest improvement over the Swedish film is the casting of Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander. Although Noomi Rapace was excellent as Salander in the Swedish version, she was simply too old for the part. In the novels, Lisbeth is often described as being extremely young looking; even as young as 13-14 years old. Although tough looking, Rapace could never quite pull off the young looking Salander. Mara pulls this off. She manages to look young, tough, vulnerable and sexy - sometimes all at once.
This film is very stylised and extremely beautiful. There is no doubt it is a Fincher film. The palate of blacks, greys, whiles, and blues really evokes the repressive feeling of a Scandinavian winter. There are plenty of interesting and creative shots to you visually stimulated. For example, a scene in a nightclub with the flashing lights and pounding music, puts the audience right in the club.
One of the most impressive aspects of the film is the opening credits with the punchy remake of the Immigrant song blasting over it. However, this is also one of the most baffling features of the film. The opening credits fit more with the marketing campaign for the film, than the actual film itself.
Story-wise this film is almost as much of a mess as the source material. There are too many characters, with too many story threads, that don’t really matter. Fincher could have cut/minimised some of the side-stories, and made a much sharper film. The ending in particular is problematic and takes far too long to bring to conclusion. At 158 minutes long the film is a test of the audience’s attention, and at times their patience.
Accents in this film were variable and often distracting. It is always difficult to make a film set in a foreign country, when the characters are all speaking English. Films can either ignore the language of the country they are in and have everyone speak normally; or can have everyone speaking English with the accent of the native language of the country they are in. This film has some characters doing one and some the other. This may not bother everyone, but it can take you out of the film for a moment.
Overall, an interesting film that is visually appealing and contains classic Fincher stylised touches. Unfortunately it is simply just too long.
3/5
