Oliver Nolan
Staff Writer
A Hollywood adaptation of an adaptation of a multi-million selling novel…cynical eh? However enticing the prospect of a film adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by the esteemed Mr David Fincher might appear, any excitement stirred by the films expansive advertising campaign has been blighted significantly. Indeed, the story was brought to the screen only as recently as 2009 with Niels Arden Oplev’s Swedish language film. Critically and commercially acclaimed, with much of the praise focused on Noomi Rapace’s Oscar nominated performance as the titular Lisbeth Salandar, does the world really need, even want a Hollywood re-jigging of a film so fresh in the collective memory? In the hands of Mr. Fincher, it would seem, that’s a yes.
Indeed, it’s immediately apparent that this is Fincher’s interpretation of the source material, starting afresh rather than seeking inspiration from Oplev’s film, which he claims not to have seen. This is clear from the 007-esque opening credits, probably the best opening sequence to any film this year, all melting leather and flying keyboards, powered by a pounding version of Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song. Exhilarating it might be, it’s also something of a red herring. Anyone familiar with the source material will know that in Larsson’s slow paced novel, his characters think at length first, shooting much, much later. James Bond himself might take top billing here, but Daniel Craig, notably slimmed down to play Mikael Blomkvist, the shamed journalist playing Sherlock in a forty-year-old disappearance case, spends a large part of the film in pyjama bottoms, staring at a computer screen. What better man to take the reigns then, than the man who took the origins of a social networking site and produced the most riveting picture of the last few years? Sharp editing ensures that over the films 158 minute running time, we are rarely bored, even when the narrative stalls. Fincher’s trademark black humour too sheds an occasional ray of light on the often-harrowing narrative. Then of course, there’s Salandar herself.
You have to feel for Rooney Mara. The ultimate baggage Fincher’s film brings with it is Rapace’s instantly iconic performance as ultimate outsider Lisbeth Salandar. If she hadn’t done such an incredible job of bringing her to the screen already, Mara would be heralded as a revelation. In truth, she is. Much like the novels themselves, the film only really picks up when Salandar becomes intrinsically linked to the mystery narrative, spending much of the first half on the margins. Mara’s performance is far from a retread of Rapace’s. If anything, Mara’s youthful features more closely fit the bill, juxtaposing a sense of collective cool and a bubbling inner rage. A ‘brave performance’ in Oscar terms these days seems to simply require the actor to either ugly up or get their kit off. Admittedly, Mara complies with these criteria to some extent, unrecognisable from her turn as Mark Zuckerberg’s girlfriend in The Social Network. This aside, she perfectly captures the character’s kindness beneath her cyber-punk veneer, and while she must be commended for her physical transformation, it’s really only the tip of the iceberg. When she lets rip on those that have crossed her, it’s both horrific and undoubtedly cathartic for the viewer. As you would expect of the man behind Seven and Fight Club, Fincher pulls no punches in his depiction of the sexual violence at the core of the film. He even toys with us, fading to black before one horrific rape sequence, before shockingly throwing us back in. One scene in particular will ensure you’ll never listen to Enya the same way again. Not that you listen to Enya or anything.
Despite altering a key plot point near the finale, the film is more faithful to Larsson’s novel than Oplev’s film. Its not to discredit either Oplev or indeed Rapace to say that Fincher’s Dragon Tattoo is a success in its own right, boasting outstanding performances from its leads, beautiful cinematography and another excellent score from Fincher collaborators Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. While it might not match the impact of his best work, it does leave you hoping he’s allowed to adapt the next two books. Now if only he’d just been a bit quicker off the mark…
