Before you ask, no, I’ve not read the book. But, to my credit, I have seen the original Swedish version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and, to be honest, that created a reservation about going seeing this remake. However, this was David Fincher directing and not holding back on the strong, adult material he was marshalling, so that and the interest in seeing how it was handled differently prompted me to go along and check it out.
First things first, then, which is the better film: the original or the remake? Honestly, there’s not a lot between them. The biggest difference is the remake extends the ending with a new coda (that may or may not be in the book – I don’t know). As I wasn’t expecting it I felt the extended scenes and plot tie-ups felt tacked on, but Mrs. Comet, who hadn’t seen the original, didn’t feel the same and watched it with the view that it made perfect sense being there. I suspect if I were to ever watch the remake again I’d feel the same – that it is more ‘complete’ and that, indeed, the Swedish version actually ends too soon.
The story for those unaware of the books and the original movie centres on two characters who, initially, have little to do with each other. Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) is a journalist just nailed in court for libel and disgraced. He is hired by reclusive millionaire businessman Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer) to investigate the disappearance of his niece, that will involve prodding into the dark history of the entire Vanger family. Eventually Blomkvist needs a research assistant, which brings Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) into his life; a troubled but exceptionally-intelligent young woman. Together the two form an unlikely alliance in attempting to uncover the mystery.
‘The Girl’ is the big draw, and all eyes were on Rooney Mara to see if she could even hope to replicate the phenomenal work done by Noomi Rapace. For me, Mara doesn’t just compete with the work on the original, she surpasses it. Unrecognisable from the girl who was Mark Zuckerberg’s obsession in The Social Network, Mara delivers a career-defining performance. Clipped, Swedish accent (indeed the only one who doesn’t bother to affect Swedish-English is Daniel Craig, and he sticks right out of place because of it), consistently hunched posture and a dewy-eyed vulnerability masking anger and hurt. ‘The Girl’ is an utterly fascinating character and here, on screen, she feels sparingly used and you’re unable to peel your attention off her when she’s around.
Daniel Craig fares less well. The lack of accent, as already mentioned, I can only assume was asserted as an arrogant dismissal of the need for it, perhaps aligned with a lack of ability to pull it off. I do like his work but I get the impression that Daniel Craig is a bit of a prick in real life. Credit where it’s due, he paints his Mikael Blomkvist in shades of weakness and selfishness, as well as tenacity and decency. It’s a leading man role that plays second fiddle to the leading lady in everything but screentime. I suppose my only real difficulty was that, because it’s Daniel Craig, it was hard not see Daniel Craig and fully invest in the character he was portraying.
Assembled around the two leads is a solid cast of familiar faces from Robin Wright (looking old but doing it gracefully) and Joely Richardson (really nailing a very difficult portrayal), but it’s the Vanger family in all their curious inter-relations, lack of friendships and horrible histories that linger in the memory. For what is ostensibly a ‘whodunnit’ mystery there’s rather a lack of legitimate suspects on display, meaning the reveal doesn’t come as a big surprise – but the skill here is that by the time you’re a step ahead in figuring out who did it the tension is being ratcheted up entirely because you know before the characters in peril do.
And what a surprise it was to find myself tense and thrilled, despite having seen the original and knowing what happens. Apart from an attention-grabbing, pounding opening credits – without question Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross deliver a far better soundtrack than the original – that plays like an S&M-influence James Bond title sequence, David Fincher mostly reins in the showy tricks of Fight Club and Panic Room for more effective direction.
Example: A key, memorable rape scene (memorable for unpalatable reasons but what a primal performance from Mara) sees Fincher have his camera leave the room, door slammed shut. We know the terrible deed will happen and believe we’ve been shut out now, spared it, drifting away to the next scene – only then we’re thrust right back into the room, not allowed such an easy way out. Cool views from the back of a motorcycle helmet and the inside of a plastic bag show Fincher has tricks up his sleeve, but he’s developed an assured technique to wrangle these in an unfussy manner that ranks him as one of the best film-makers around today.
In truth there’s very little here that fans of the original are going to derive much from. If anything, all involved here have simply made a terrific film that inures them from criticism that it was an unnecessary remake in the first place. For those that haven’t seen the original then what they are going to find with The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is a rare example of a proper, quality adult film, mixed up in a crowdpleasing thriller with a central performance from Mara that deserves unending praise. If everyone involved here wants to go ahead and ‘play with fire’ and even ‘kick the hornet’s nest’ then I’ll gladly see this girl again.
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