Complex, Propulsive Thriller Feels Chilled but a Superb Turn by Mara Kicks It into High Gear

Rating: 8/10 (5 July 2012)

Having never read the late Stieg Larsson's 2005 source novel, an unforgivable oversight I know, I didn't know what quite to expect with this 2011 crime drama beyond what I already knew of director David Fincher's generally dark-hued work ("Fight Club", "The Social Network"). For instance, I didn't know the film's narrative would be bifurcated until the midpoint of its 158-minute running time. One side of the movie belongs to the girl of the title, Lisbeth Salander, a deadened goth-punk computer genius, and the other side belongs to Stockholm journalist Mikael Blomkvist whose latest exposé of corporate evil about a billionaire Swedish magnate has been declared libelous. Disgraced and broke, he accepts a private investigation job offered by Henrik Vanger, an elderly industrialist who would like to resolve the 40-year-old mystery of his murdered niece Harriet in the Swedish hinterlands up north. The list of suspects, Blomkvist is told, includes several members of Vanger's dysfunctional family, eccentric fascists and Nazis still living within walking distance from his manor.
Obviously, as Blomkvist gets closer to the truth, his life becomes more endangered. Juxtaposed with Blomkvist's investigation is Lisbeth's unenviable existence back in Stockholm. Having just compiled an extensive background check on Blomkvist for Vanger, she has just been appointed a new legal guardian, Nils Bjurman, due to her state-declared mental incompetency. Bjurman abuses his authority by forcibly raping her. Lisbeth eventually regains control of her life by blackmailing him in the most degrading manner possible, an act of revenge both horrifying and satisfying. Blomkvist decides to hire Lisbeth to help him uncover the connection between a cryptic message written in a notebook and a series of murders that occurred from the late 1940s to the mid- 1960s. The labyrinth plot escalates into a series of increasingly revealing connections between Harriet's disappearance and the entire Vanger dynasty, in particular, Harriet's brother Martin, now the CEO of the Vanger Corporation, and their estranged sister Anita, living in London with no desire to reunite with what remains of her family in Sweden.
At the same time, Lisbeth and Blomkvist become romantically involved, which naturally brings its own set of complications but also provides the impetus for a final act of revenge. I assume screenwriter Steve Zaillian's adaptation of the source novel remains faithful, but just as important, he manages to present an elaborately plotted thriller with most of the necessary details presented intact. Fincher does an impressive job propelling this complicated story with dazzling cinematic technique and handles the more lurid moments with the same professional ease he displayed in "Se7en" and "Zodiac". However, the meticulous emphasis on procedure sometimes disinfects the movie to the point of making the principals feel more like plot devices racing toward the resolution. At certain points, the plot developments feel as cold as the wintry Scandinavian setting. Despite this tonal discord, the cast works effectively within the story's convolutions and conventions. Even with a variable Swedish accent, Daniel Craig is able to submerge his cool Bond persona just enough to play the wry, middle-aged investigative reporter in a compellingly human manner.
Christopher Plummer as Vanger, Joely Richardson as Anita, and Robin Wright as Blomkvist's married editor Erika all play their roles with precise authority and surprisingly convincing Swedish accents. In more challenging roles, Yorick van Wageningen as Lisbeth's abusive guardian and Stellan Skarsgård as Martin are even better. However, it's Rooney Mara (Mark Zuckerberg's scabrous girlfriend in the opening scene of "The Social Network") who really gives the movie both its mystique and emotional wallop. With pale eyebrows, shapeless clothing, and awkward manner, Mara's Lisbeth concurrently craves attention and deflects it with almost every movement. The actress makes her character's savant skills and photographic memory perfectly believable and most of all, makes Lisbeth's seeming passivity quietly heartbreaking with a modicum of expression. It's a superb, star-making performance. Cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth deserves mention for capturing the severity of the chilled images needed to convey the story, while the original music by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross provides an appropriately haunting undercurrent.