The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo (2011)
It’s disappointing but easy to understand why the rest of the initial Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy failed to become an American franchise. With a budget of $90 million, the film barely scraped even at the American box office, grossing $102 million domestically and an additional $130 million internationally in its total run. By the time the film was released, the Swedish adaptations of the three novels were already completed. Opening around Christmas on December 20th, the same day that part one of the novel begins, also hurt it, as it was out performed its opening weekend by Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, and Alvin and The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked. It is a cold noir mystery, and one of the least family friendly films I’ve seen. It earns its R rating more than most, with brutal depictions of violence, torture, and rape.
The film focuses on two characters as they work to solve what is essentially a locked room murder mystery that occurred 40 years ago. Journalist Mikael Bloomkvist, played by Daniel Craig, and hacker Lisbeth Salander, played by Rooney Mara, are both employed by Henrik Vagner, played by Christopher Plummer, to see if they can uncover anything he and the police have failed to regarding the disappearance of his niece 40 years ago. Vagner’s family is rich and twisted, they have an island to themselves where they live in isolation, from the neighboring town and each other. Flashbacks depict the events that occurred 40 years ago with an impressive level of detail. During a gathering, with family members who mostly still live on the island in present day, his niece vanished. The bridge was closed, no boats were missing, and all her items were accounted for. She was never seen again.
The production design in general is very high tier and feels authentic, filming on location in Sweden certainly contributed. The cold permeates through the screen, the snow, wind, and layered costuming make the viewer chilly in their seat. The environments both in present day and flashback feel detailed and rich with atmosphere. A character’s high end modern home feels pristine and minimalistic, an old cottage has crumbling walls and dusty floors, a hackers den feels cluttered and grimy. Much of the movie is spent going through old photographs, that actually seem appropriately aged and grainy, not simple photoshops or clearly new photos of people in old clothing.
The only thing that isn’t completely believable and consistent throughout is some of the accent work. Some actors employ a Swedish accent, some try to, and others forego it altogether. There isn’t a bad performance in the movie, just some inconsistent vocal work. Those that employ an accent stick to it well enough, but not everyone does. Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig capably carry much of the movie, and Christopher Plummer has tremendous presence for the few scenes he is in. His warmth feels like a refuge from the cold that envelops the rest of the film.
The movie establishes the two leads well before they dig into the mystery together, it's not until more than an hour into the movie that the two protagonists even meet. The relationship between them is the focus of the movie, and the context of their lives prior to them meeting makes it all the more meaningful. Their detective work is meticulous, and director David Fincher proves himself again capable of making people looking at pictures interesting and compelling. When revelations are made, the movie trusts its audience to follow along and keep up. Discoveries aren’t immediately given dialogue to ensure the viewer understands, it gives us enough credit to connect the dots between the images on screen.
Each of the protagonists have a subplot that runs through the movie before and after the main investigation- Mikeal works to reestablish his credibility as a journalist and Lisbeth’s state appointed guardian encounters severe health issues. The main investigation could involve a string of previously unconnected and unsolved brutal murders of women, and Mikael and Lisbeth realize they may not be as safe as they imagined stuck on this island with Vagner’s family. The movie is paced well between scenes of increasing paranoia and tension before some truly shocking and brutal scenes. There are visceral sequences that are very hard to watch, and not for the faint of heart. They are not easily forgotten after seen. The original Swedish title of the novel by Stieg Larsson, Men Who Hate Women, seems more applicable given the themes and events of the story.
It’s a shame the rest of the trilogy wasn’t adapted, but this one just didn’t make enough money for the studio to continue. Daniel Craig continued doing Bond movies and Rooney Mara’s Oscar nominated performance in this propelled her career to new heights. Had the studio wanted to continue, scheduling between them probably would’ve been a nightmare- this film alone took 140 days to shoot. Still, one can’t help but wonder what that trilogy would’ve looked like with this team and cast behind it. A big budget R rated trilogy of modern day noirs, aimed at adults, trusting the audience to follow along, telling compelling stories with imperfect characters. It’s a nice thought.
