As many movies over the years have shown us, adapting a novel into a movie can be quite the big bitch, but David Fincher was obviously up to the challenge, delivering The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, an effective, powerful, very haunting and well made movie, easily one of my favorites of 2011. :)
What is it about? Daniel Craig plays Mikael, a journalist who has recently landed in hot water over a story he published which turns out to be false. You can tell he's looking for an excuse to get away, which is exactly what he receives from Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer), when Henrik recruits Mikael into solving the mystery over the murder of Henrik's granddaughter over 40 years ago. This case involves talking to all of Henrik's shady ass family and going over documents that have been in existence for decades, which is obviously not a one man task. So, Henrik enlists in Lisbeth (Rooney Mara), a mysterious, badass computer hacker to help Mikael solve the case.
The positives: The performances are easily one of the highlights of TGWTDT. Daniel Craig (who I feel has delivered quite a few flat performances in terrible movies this year) easily redeems himself here, delivering his best performance in years as Mikael. The real star here, I feel is Rooney Mara as Lisbeth though. She's mesmerizing. From her haunting look, to her gestures, to the way she speaks, you won't be able to get this portrayal out of your mind anytime soon. This is the stuff that I feel should easily be getting her nominated for Oscars. The Mara sisters have proved to be a force to be reckoned with in terms of siblings with a shitload of talent.
The mystery aspect is another area I felt that Dragon Tattoo succeeded in as well. Though I've read a fair amount of reviews labeling the movie as dull, I actually thought it was pretty damn entertaining and suspenseful. The movie has a feeling of mystery and benevolence. You really don't know what any of the characters in Henrik's family are capable of, adding tension to every single one of Mikael's meetings with them. I personally didn't see the ending coming which is another thing I think was strong about this movie; it's not predictable unlike a lot of other thrillers out there right now.
The bad: Though I enjoyed the way they wrapped up the mystery with Henrik's granddaughter, I do feel that another part of the ending was severely lacking; the last 2-3 minutes. I felt that Lisbeth's character acted in a way that wasn't very true to how she had behaved for the last 2.5 hours & I felt like there was a bit of giving up in the last moment or two. The final scene could have been a bit stronger considering I would call the rest of the movie pretty damn strong, it's just that it didn't know how to wrap itself up.
Overall, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a very solid and engaging mystery. The performances are top notch, the writing is very natural and intriguing, the mystery behind the granddaughter's murder will keep you guessing from beginning to end, there's tension from beginning to end (excluding the mentioned 2-3 final minutes). Easily one of the best movies of 2011.
4/4
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