I come from the land of the ice and snow!

Rating: 9/10 (21 December 2011)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is certainly one of the more depressing films of the year, but also one of the most enthralling, hard to turn away from films of the year. It follows Mikael Blomkvist (Craig), a journalist who has just lost everything, and Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara), a researcher/computer hacker whose life has been nothing but hardship and misunderstanding since her adolescent years. The two converge on a case surrounding one of the more prominent and dirty families in all of Sweden, the Vangers.
Henrik Vanger (Plummer) hires Mikael to investigate the disappearance of his niece. He encounters many problems, the biggest being the disappearance happened 40 years ago. When his research starts getting interesting and more dangerous, he calls upon Lisbeth, who did the background check on Mikael for the Vangers. Together the two try to solve the case, digging up hidden truths, dirty secrets, and encountering some detestable characters along the way. They don't know if they're getting close or farther from the truth, but as the heat turns up, it seems like the answer is rapidly approaching, or is it their impending demise?
What stands out most about this film from the original Swedish version of a few years ago is the mood. Yes, both films cover some disturbing material, but the original version looks like it was filmed in the real world. Fincher, however, creates an entirely different world. It looks, feels, and almost smells dirty. There is hardly a white light found in the film. Even the snow is turned grey by the overcast skies. You get the feeling that there is no hope for these characters.
There is really only one area where the film lacks. Pacing. There is so much information to translate to the audience. It's the job of the editor and the writer to make sure that the audience doesn't skip a beat. There is montage after montage, intercuts, and Swedish writing thrown about that it's hard to keep track of what exactly a character is doing. We get the gist of it all, but there were moments when I was lagging behind just enough to notice.
Other than that I thought the film was a fine adaptation for American audiences. I wasn't sure how the sexual violence would be handled, but Fincher doesn't hold back, much like the Swedish film. Is it important that we see this violence? I hate to say it but yes. We need to like Lisbeth so much that we completely disregard her outward appearance and see her as a survivor. She's extremely talented and fearless. Mara brings Lisbeth to life much like Noomi Rapace brought her to life, only Mara is a letter more brazen and less moody than Noomi, but both are effective with what they do. Craig too gives a solid performance. I was worried that they would try to toughen his character up (seeing as Craig is currently James Bond), but they didn't. They make him likable only because he seems normal and one who stands up for what he believes in.
It's a slimy, complex, fast-moving thriller that is sure to turn some heads at times but in the end you'll be holding your breath and hoping for the best. You might go into the movie clean, but you'll come out dirty.