The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo DVD
Starring: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Stellan Skarsgard, Christopher Plummer, Joely Richardson
Director: David Fincher
Rating: 4.5/5
We have seen a whole host of foreign movies adapted for American audiences in recent years and while most of them have been a disappointment The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is not.
The major thing that always bugs me when an American version of something is made is the story is automatically moved to the States, usually New York, but, excellent news, there is no such move in this movie as it, like the book, is set in Sweden.
Journalist Mikael Blomkvist is aided in his search for a woman who has been missing for forty years by Lisbeth Salander, a young computer hacker.
Ok let’s get the bad out of the way first because there really isn’t too much of it - all I would say that it is a tad long at 2hrs and 37 minutes - but apart from that it is spot on.
David Fincher has made a darker and meaner version that the one that graced the screen only last year that is engrossing from the opening frame.
This is a great adaptation of the novel which, I think, will leave lovers of the book happy as Fincher has created this real air of menace and danger which just hangs over the entire movie.
The central casting is just excellent Daniel Craig depicts Mikael Blomkvist as this run of the mill everyman who get pulled into a series of events that are more dangerous than he ever imagined.
Craig has not made Blomkvist into any type of action hero and it’s great to see the actor tackle a very different sort of role.
But this movie belongs to Rooney Mara as she is just superb as Lisbeth Salander as she mixes strong and vulnerable, tough and sensitive, sane and crazy all beautifully together to deliver this very damaged and yet highly likeable character of Salander.
And it was great to see her performance recognised by the Academy when she picked up a Best Actress nomination for her work
Mara has great chemistry with Craig work beautifully well together - there is a real genuine feel to their relationship as it develops throughout the film.
There is also a great support cast that includes a creepy turn from Stellan Skarsgard as well as an emotional performance from Christopher Plummer as Henrik, who is trying to discover who murdered his niece.
Visually the movie is just stunning as Fincher uses the harsh landscape to add a real coldness and sense of danger to the movie - is just works wonderfully in creating a rather uncomfortable and cut off sort of atmosphere.
But what is so great about The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is Fincher has not tried to make a it a movie for everyone - this is very much an adult story with adult themes and none of these have been watered down to appeal to censors.
The rape and revenge scenes are brutal but Fincher has treated his audience with respect - and that doesn’t happen too often in movies at the moment.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is a cinematic triumph that should not be missed!!
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is out on DVD & Blu-Ray now
Click to buy DVD: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011)
Click to buy Blu-Ray: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011)
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw