The Girl with the Insanely Good Movie

Rating: 8/10 (22 January 2012)

***1/2 out of (****)
After waiting an impeccably long time for "Tattoo" to get the ball rolling into cinemas, a strong critical reception was promised. And I got that, but something was odd. Fincher's films typically are critically acclaimed with a solid praise, almost promising it's THE movie of the year ("The Social Network", "Benjamin Button", and "Zodiac" anyone?). This..., this just got some solid word-of-mouth but strangely enough, no actual hoopla. With a more than prosperous book trilogy and Sweden film collection, how does Fincher's glossy and more polished, Americanized version stack up?
"Tattoo" revolves around our central protagonist Lisbeth, played by the iconic Rooney Mara teams up with the co-star of the show, Daniel Craig. Together, they are on the hunt for the missing Harriet, who vanished nearly half a century ago.
Clocking in at an excessive 158 minutes, never once does this film drop the ball or lose its steam. Boasting an elaborate and rather oily opening credits sequence, what a way to kick off such a mesmerizing movie-going experience. First off, the performances here are just astonishing to say the least. Craig and Mara are the pitch perfect detective duo and give it their all. I can smell some Academy nominations. Moreover, the script of this film is extremely well written, with various amounts of attention to detail. And how the script is executed? Very competent, with every ounce of the script being projected in its fullest potential.
Now where this film shines is rather in the star power. Throughout the film, Lisbeth and Craig's character undergo this intimate love triangle (if you want to even call it that) and makes things especially interesting. But, speaking of intimate and personal, how is the much talked about rape scene? With all the buzz revolving around the three minute tragedy, I can definitely say I've seen worse, but this was still pretty brutal to watch. Don't get me wrong, rape is never an easy subject to touch on, but the execution here was just disturbing and gut- wrenching.
What about the score? Just the cherry on top. Trent Reznor fails to disappoint with this eerie and mostly engaging soundtrack. It definitely enhances this film on all levels. And last but not least, the cinematography is some of the best I've seen. The shots are simply beautiful and when there isn't your fair share of sex, rape, or violence going on, the atmosphere is definitely one to suck you in.
If there was a complaint I would have, it would be the pacing. The first two hours are paced brilliantly, with Fincher directed a very evenly paced and coherent picture. But those last 30+ minutes are edited just very choppy and it goes off the rails a bit after a smooth transition between the hours.
All in all, Fincher has another winner on its hands. The acting, the visuals, the plot, it's all there and it's all quite extraordinary. Is this movie as mind-blowing and earth-shattering as the hype persuades you to be? That's up to you, but personally, it didn't. But what we have here is still a solid picture that is more than deserving to be on a Top 10 list or two. We shall soon meet again Fincher.