Purely mature and well executed; it draws our attention to its craft, characters, and story

Rating: 9/10 (24 March 2012)

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" is based off of the international bestseller of the same title, as well as the Swedish movie that was released in 2009. I have not read the book nor seen the Swedish film, so I did not know what to expect. Even so, I am drawn to this movie because of the name David Fincher—the master of mysterious thrillers who brought us "Seven" and "Fight Club." As a film, Fincher's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" is not so much focused on edge of your seat suspense or thrills, but rather two individuals who lead very different lives that end up paired together and entangled in a murderous case that involves a wealthy family. Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) is a journalist that is facing a lawsuit over publishing a libelous article. He is hired by a wealthy land baron (Christopher Plummer) to solve the 40 year-old disappearance of his niece Henrietta. He is teamed up with Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara), an antisocial Goth computer hacker that is a ward to the state. This all sounds like the makings of a great movie, but not enough to make a 158 minute feature.
The first hour of the film is mostly spent on developing the characters Mikael and Lisbeth. Mikael is presented as not a very nice guy. He has an affair with his publicist. His personality is that of sarcasm and skepticism; he is surrounded by a world full of corruption, yet he can't outdo it. He only takes the land baron's job because he needs the money. Nevertheless, Daniel Craig's performance carries a solid, defiant confidence that can be seen in his past work as Agent 007. He never gives up and gets the job done at any means necessary (even at the expense of breaking and entering).
Lisbeth is not a perfect individual either. Unlike Mikael though, she is someone to both admire and pity. From the very start of the film, she is depicted as a person who is trying to survive on her own. Her apartment is small, unkempt, and she eats anything she can get her hands on (this includes Happy Meals). Little is known of her past, but what is shown in the film is a young woman that is engulfed by loneliness and sexual abuse. Her short temper and cold, blank stares are not a means to depict her as evil. Rather, they show her as a sympathetic, tormented soul that seeks to be loved. Rooney Mara performs this character flawlessly. Every second I saw her, I cannot help but feel her pain and I felt helpless that there was nothing I can do about it. Simultaneously, I applauded her for the brave actions she delivers in the second half of the film. Her Oscar nomination is well deserved.
David Fincher's technical team of people does a phenomenal job of putting together such an impressive film. The sound designers put a heavy use of SFX to help build scenes of tension. Jordan Cronenweth's cinematography is made up of fluid tracking shots and low-key lighting, which creates dimly lit sets that reflect the dark world that the characters are trapped in. Trent Rezner and Atticus Ross's music score creates a very eerie atmosphere that helps put the viewer right into the situations that the characters are in. Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter's editing (which both won Oscars for) is crisp, clean, and to the hilt with perfection.
However, what "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" lacks is story structure. It's not an issue of too much plot, but rather a story that feels rushed. For instance, the relationship that builds between Mikael and Lisbeth happens very quicklyin fact so quick that it is almost ludicrous. In one scene, Lisbeth recoils when Mikael leans his arm over her. Ten minutes later in the movie, the two have aggressive sex. There is no breathing room for the characters to grow attracted to one another. Then again, it could be just a casual sex relationship, but I never got that assumption between Lisbeth and Mikael. The ending also runs into this problem—it is almost as if the screenwriters were running out of time and they tried to compress as much as they can in as fast as possible.
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" does not drag in its pace, so the additional time it would have taken to fix these issues would not have damaged the overall film. It is better to have a three hour film that is not compressed in terms of plot than a 2.5 hour one that is squeezed tightly. Even so, I am glad that I have a copy of this movie and I will watch it multiple times. It is worth noting that this is a very disturbing film. It's not violent like a slasher flick, but it deals with graphic depictions of rape and torture. This is purely an adult movie—and a great one at that!