Film Review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

David Fincher blew me away last year with his film, The Social Network. By most accounts it shouldn't have been very good at all. A story about a tech start up, based on a book that wasn't all too cinematic to begin with would be tough to work with for anyone but Fincher spun a tale of friendship and betrayal that still sticks with me to this day. A little over a year later and he is back with his take on the popular Swedish crime novel trilogy. Can The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo live up to my lofty expectations?

To answer the question in the first paragraph, yea and no. For this review keep in mind I have not read any of the novels or seen the original Swedish films. And I'm glad that I am not basing my opinions on any other work. That being said, the reasons this film does live up to my expectations is because of what David Fincher brings to the table. Why it doesn't live up to them is because of the source material holding the rest back.

The first hour or so of the film the main characters, Daniel Craig's Mikael Blomkvist and Rooney Mara's Lisbeth Salander, never really meet. It makes for a lot of waiting around for the film to really get started.

Speaking of Lisbeth Salander, she is one of the best characters I've seen on screen in years and played magnificently by Rooney Mara. She is interesting and mysterious, powerful but vulnerable. Through her alone I see why this series has become so popular. She shines through the rest of the film and begs to be let loose on a story of her own.

Lisbeth's story is a large part of the film but is not what the film is truly about. The actual story that of the film is not all that great. Fincher presents it in a fascinating way but in the end I would have rather seen a more personal case to either of the main characters.

The "Millennium series" are large books and the inclusion of many elements from the book are obvious. It feels like many details are crammed in the film, especially in the last 40 minutes. It becomes detrimental to the film at certain points but are done by a skilled hand and do not ruin the overall experience. It can be a double edged sword with these cult properties. If specific things were not mentioned or seen fans could have become outraged. And add the wrong things and new commers will be turned off.

One of my larger expectations for the film was Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' soundtrack. The score for The Social Network is beloved by me and still in heavy rotation on my iPod. The score in 'Dragon Tattoo' is very well done but lacks the impact The Social Network's score had.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo didn't meet my high expectations but was still a solid experience. It is extremely hard to deny how talented David Fincher is. Watching the film on a purely technical level, it is like watching a master painter slowly reveal one of his finest works. The source material really holds this one back from being truly great though. With these refined expectations and the desire to see a master filmmaker do his thing, you shouldn't be disappointed.