One of the most anticipated movies of the year, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is what I would call “Babysitter Worthy.” For the record, I have read all three of Swedish novelist Stieg Larsson’s books and found them as engrossing as the 50 million other who bought the book but I have not seen the Swedish movie versions of the book. That said, I think that David Fincher has made an adaptation of the book that is worth paying for a babysitter to see.
From the very stylized and unexpected opening credits of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” by Trent Reznor Karen O vocals to the subtle ending, The Girl with the Dragoon Tattoo is a wild ride even for those who have read the book.
The movie follows a disgraced journalist, Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig), as he investigates the disappearance of a wealthy patriarch’s niece from their family compound 40 years ago. He is assisted by the pierced, tattooed, punk computer hacker named Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) to finding the truth of the niece’s disappearance and in the uncovers a family secret.
Rooney Mara is the heart, soul and grit of this movie, without her, this movie would die quickly. The smartest move on David Fincher’s part was to pick a relative unknown in Mara whose previous quick or you will miss her role as Mark Zuckerberg’s girlfriend in “The Social Network” is perfectly cast. Trust me if you saw her in The Social Network and I did, I was as shocked as everyone else as to how she was chosen but good god, she embodies the Lisbeth Salander role. Every time she appeared on screen, she literally takes your breath away and that’s when you realize how many bad actresses they are in Hollywood because she is that good and she doesn’t have a lot of lines.
Daniel Craig as the other lead character Mikael Blomkvist is equally brilliant. When you see him in this movie, you forget he was ever James Bond especially in some of the scenes in his in over his head with the villains. And for eye candy, there is a moment where he is only wearing his briefs. Yeah!
The rest of the cast is also brilliantly cast from Christopher Plummer as the Swedish family patriarch, Henrik Vanger to Robin Wright as Blomkist’s mistress to Stellen Skarsgard, creepy guy. The cinematography itself plays a major role. The movie was shot in Sweden during the coldest winter in twenty years and it shows. The scenes on the Vanger’s island and surrounding roads and woods is stunning, you can literally feel the cold of the winter and the family.
I would be remiss if I did not mention that this movie earns its “R” rating, big time. It is as graphic and violent as the book. The rape and torture scenes are look away, cringe-worthy moments and you could argue, it could have been omitted but it speaks to the essence of the books and the movie. I give Rooney Mara credit for enduring what was probably a humiliating experience to film some of those scenes in front of an entire film crew and now millions will watch.
I can’t say much more than – Brilliant cast, excellent story line, stunning cinematography and great acting. And coming in at 2 hours and 40 minutes, I never looked at my watch once.
Disclosure: NYC Single Mom was not compensated for this post.
