Movie Review: 'Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' heady, violent, excellent
Submitted by admin on Sat, 12/24/2011 - 11:18pm
Director David Fincher's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," currently showing at the Fandango Galaxy multiplex in Carson City, is an exciting thriller with dramatic overtones. It's based on the novel by Stieg Larsson which was a big best seller.
Daniel Craig stars as a Swedish journalist facing a big fine over slander in an article he wrote about a Swedish industrialist. Rooney Mara plays Lisbeth Salander, computer wizard and extreme individualist tendencies.
Craig hasn't got a whisper of matching Rooney Mara, the electrifying star ripped out of the book and brought to stunning life. She's simply terrific as she melds from eyebrow- and lip-pierced freak to attractive individualist (her nude scenes alone are enough to make Craig fade into the scenery), from unkempt black hair to fading eyebrows. She or her double is also very sharp on a motorcycle. We'll no doubt seeing her in the next two films of this trilogy, something to look forward to.
Craig is dutiful as journalist hired to clear up a mystery in the factory-owned island of Hedestat where a retired industrialist's great niece disappeared 40 years ago. It's safe haven for Mikael Bloomvist (Craig) who potters around tracing the family tree of the industrialist's family.
Mikael winds up hiring Lisbeth to help him in his search for the missing girl, and she does so beautifully, more so than Mikael, who winds up in a deadly situation only to be rescued by Lisbeth. The happy if bloody ending is cruel but bodes well for more of this franchise.
This is not a film for kiddies or for the faint of heart. Lisbeth is forced to perform fellatio on her court-appointed guardian and is also raped and sodomized by him in a wrenching sequence. Lisbeth gets her revenge, however, in another brutal scene.
Although there's a car crash scene, usually the mark of the director running out of ideas, that's about the only cliche in the movie. Mara alone makes up for any short comings from director or screen writer. Incidentally, pay close attention to some of the minor moments here; they explain much of the plot, including the section where computer hacker Lisbeth goes on a whirlwind tour of financial centers looting the financier who sued Mikael of millions and triggering his corrupt fellow crooks to waste him.
This is movie European style, and it is probably as good as anything we'll see this year. Too bad the violence and sex will kill any Oscar hopes. But hang in there, Mara, you've got two more shots at an Oscar.
---Sam Bauman
Directed by David Fincher; written by Steven Zaillian, based on the novel by Stieg Larsson; director of photography, Jeff Cronenweth; edited by Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall; music by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross; production design by Donald Graham Burt; costumes by Trish Summerville; produced by Scott Rudin, Ole Sondberg, Soren Staermose and Cean Chaffin; released by Columbia Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures. Running time: 2 hours 38 minutes. Rated R.
CAST: Daniel Craig (Mikael Blomkvist), Rooney Mara (Lisbeth Salander), Christopher Plummer (Henrik Vanger), Stellan Skarsgard (Martin Vanger), Steven Berkoff (Frode), Robin Wright (Erika Berger), Yorick van Wageningen (Bjurman), Joely Richardson (Anita Vanger), Geraldine James (Cecilia), Goran Visnjic (Armansky), Donald Sumpt(Detective Morell) and Ulf Friberg (Wennerstrom).
