My Movie of 2011

Rating: 9/10 (11 January 2012)

It will be nearly impossible for me to give an unbiased, objective review of this film without bringing any context or personal mumbo jumbo into it. So I suppose it's better that I not even try, and just talk about this as I see fit.
I'll first start out by saying I'm a fanatic of the series of books to which this is based on, and a modest fan of the Swedish film adaptations of those books. They weren't perfect, but I wouldn't call any of them letdowns - not by a long shot. Naturally though, skepticism arose when the American adaptation (then thought of as a "remake") was announced. To me that skepticism was not only called for, it was nearly essential. I felt as if it could go two ways: it could be a "Hollywood" over simplification of the source material, which would obviously include shameless censoring of the source's graphic sexual violence (necessity be damned); or it could be a simple carbon copy of the original film (not unlike another American adaptation of a Swedish novel/film, Let Me In).
Luckily, David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is neither of those. The film is not only a more faithful adaptation of the novel, but it also might be even more brutal and, for some, traumatizing than the Swedish original.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is the story of Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist whose reputation had been squandered by a libel suit, who is hired to solve a 40+ year-old mystery with the aid of the title character, the asocial Lisbeth Salander. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, as a novel, is of a story and style that is unmistakeably Swedish; from the pacing, to the seemingly endless cramming-in of detail, to Sweden's government system working its own way into the plot progression, Sweden is as essential to the novel as any character, plot progression, theme, what have you. It would be a crime to Americanize the story, in both setting and style. Fincher and screenwriter Steven Zaillian made the correct decision of keeping the setting of Sweden and simply having the characters' language masked by English. For some this can be confusing, as the Swedish guardianship system that Lisbeth Salander is under is never fully explained in the film as it is in the books; however if you pay attention, and just go with it, I think you'll get the hang of it just fine.
Speaking of Salander, Rooney Mara is exceptional in the role. She shows a side of vulnerability and fear that is locked away in Lisbeth, more so, I think, than Noomi Rapace did nearly three years ago. As far as the other, less noted protagonist of the film Mikael Blomkvist, the casting of Daniel Craig was yet another source of skepticism for me; I simply couldn't think of him being able to pull off Blomkvist in his more sensitive and vulnerable moments. However, Craig shines as brightly as Mara, and the two sport a chemistry equal to that of the leading man and woman in the Swedish film.
Even at a length exceeding two and a half hours, I couldn't find myself bored with this film once. Humorous dialogue exchanges are perfectly timed to give us a break from the tension when needed, and those moments never feel tacked on. This film successfully brings me back into the world of the Millennium trilogy in a way that not even the Swedish film could; though I feel that to still be excellent, Fincher's adaptation has more breathing room, and I feel as if I'm seeing this bleak universe unfold before my eyes. I love this film, and ultimately the book series, for the same reasons that I love shows like Twin Peaks or Breaking Bad; they're dark, ominous, kinda messed up, but at the same time, enthralling and ridiculously entertaining. It is, without a doubt, one of the most exhilarating viewing experiences I've had this year.