The Movie with the Dragging Denouement

Rating: 6/10 (22 March 2010)

"Dragon Tattoo" starts well, introducing its characters with depth and a measured pace not usually found in thrillers unless they were directed by Polanski before this century. Unfortunately, this stately poise never allows it to pick up the energy necessary to deliver real thrills, and somewhere in the second hour it loses the intelligence and grace of the first act. Then it becomes idiotic. Then it gets boring.
A procedural drama is fine. A procedural drama spiced with dynamic, interesting characters is better than that. But a serial killer working with biblical references? Really? At this late date? Add to that a tendency to shoot multiple scenes to deliver information that could be processed in a shot, plus falling action nearly as long as any one of the acts proper, and you're trying my patience.
And this movie's real plot begins with a howler: a smart guy and a smarter guy both fail to recognize that a girl who sends a very specific message once a year has probably not been dead for forty. Their even smarter assistant not only doesn't notice their stupidity, she abets it. After that kind of misstep, it's difficult to keep my feet in this languorous waltz with Queen Mab. Finally I had to put them up on the seat in front of me and wait for Noomi to take her clothes off again, which she didn't do nearly often enough.