The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (David Fincher, 2011)

David Fincher commented that just 40 pages into reading Steig Larsson's global hit novel that he could see exactly why it had been sent to him. The connections with the director's career are clearly evident; the serial killing and mismatched detectives of Se7en, the thorough procedural hunt of Zodiac, and the story even features a lot of investigative work done through computers (something that shouldn't be visually interesting) but Fincher elevates this element just as he did with The Social Network and creates something cinematic and exciting. Despite the Swedish film only being released back in 2009 with many in uproar that Hollywood dare to give it the remake treatment so soon, this is clearly a story that Fincher was meant to tell.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo as most people know by now is the story of disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) who is hired by ex-industrialist Henrik Vanger (of the Vanger corporation) to dig into his past to reveal which member of his family killed his niece during the 1960s. Blomkvist is eventually aided in his investigation by Lisbeth Salander - a goth computer hacker who carried out the background check on Blomkvist for Vanger. As they hone in on the killer their relationship becomes more personal and ambiguous.

The film always has been viewed as a murder mystery and of course it is, however the real core of the story is Lisbeth. One of the great literary creations of recent years she is simply fascinating. The films' success rides on Rooney Mara's portrayal of the broken and abused young girl; her performance shows Lisbeth scarred and animal like, almost ferrel. She has lived a life of oppression at the hands of the 'system' and of men, the original title of the novel was Men Who Hate Women and this theme of extreme misogyny is present throughout his Millennium Trilogy and in a couple of excruciatingly cruel scenes starts here. If cinemas warned audiences of the bloodshed during a scene in 127 Hours then there should be a warning issued for the sexual abuse portrayed in this. This is not for the casual viewer.

Daniel Craig is at his absolute best as Blomkvist and maintains that icy ephemeral quality that has always added something special when he's performing but as said before this is Mara's film and she dominates it entirely. For such a young actress she has taken on the most difficult role any actress could face this year and has ran with it, she has proven her worth now and will surely be in upmost demand after a career defining performance as this. One can not believe Rooney's transformation from Mark Zuckerberg's ex-girlfriend shown in The Social Network to the broken female avenger shown in this.

David Fincher brought some key collaborators along from his last film along for TGWTDT and perhaps this has helped secure its obvious quality. Director of photography Jeff Cronenweth who has now shot three of Fincher's projects and maintains the consistent visuals that has become accustomed to the director, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross deliver another breathtaking atmospheric score that captures the essence of the story and Swedish setting. The score is industrial, imposing, cold, and perfectly fitting. One stand out point of the film is the opening title sequence that both rivals the Bond franchise and reminds us that Fincher had cut his teeth long before feature films in music videos, the sequence is stunning and a definite highlight if not at odds with the rest of the films' consistent tone.

All the elements of this adaptation work very well indeed - the performances by the rather large cast, the photography, the music. Everything comes together to create a biting thriller that fits perfectly and proudly in the career of a director known for his foray in the genre. During the 90s Fincher stated that he was interested in films that scarred; after the detached tragic love epic that was Benjamin Button and the genius courtroom antics of The Social Network it's great to see his most recent film and his return to the thriller cutting very deep indeed!

For Fans of: Se7en, Zodiac, Silence of the Lambs, Enja

Not Just Any Old Girl

Nothing gets my back up more than the announcement of yet another remake especially as nothing seems sacred after recent reports of American Psycho (2000) and Point Break (1991) getting the treatment; however, David Fincher and Steven Zailian's upcoming 'remake' (or 're-adaptation' as they're marketing it) of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo hits theatres this month on the 26th and quite frankly I'm excited, ashamedly so I might add.

Should I be ashamed? Or am I the product of being a fan boy on three accounts? As a long time fan of David (Se7en, Fight Club, Zodiac, The Social Network) Fincher I can't shake off the anticipation for him returning to the thriller. Not only this but he has brought Trent Reznor on board once again for scoring duties, Reznor has teamed with Atticus Ross again after their brilliant work on The Social Network. I would normally be taking the attitude of Jules in Truffaut's Jules et Jim in saying "not this one Jim" leave this girl alone but alas I cannot. As a massive fan of Nine Inch Nails, Fincher, and yes Daniel Craig there is just too much here to write off and ignore.

The story depicts the efforts of disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist and computer Hacker Lisbeth Sander in finding the killer of a young girl in the Vanger family 36 years ago. Blomkvist is hired by Henrik Vanger - retired CEO of the Vanger corporation; he believes a member of his family killed his niece all that time ago and promises Blomkvist to free him of the sentence brought upon him from losing a libel case if he finds the truth of his family's dark past. Blomkvist and Salander form an unusual working and personal relationship as they close in on the killer.

A few months ago I wrote a piece about my thoughts on remakes after the announcement of Spike Lee's remake of Korean cult classic Oldboy (2003). My conclusion was that Hollywood is perhaps increasingly unimaginative lately due to the added pressure of our unfortunate economic climate and who can blame them? After all, the Hollywood studios always have and always will be a money making machine and is naive to think of them as anything else. The problem is with what audiences are willing to pay for, because of course if Hollywood's output is continuously diminishing and the audience figures keep rising then why should they try harder? Why should they take risks? Why shouldn't they do as little as possible for maximum return? The problem then sits on the shoulders of the audience.

There is a trend right now for American producers to buy the rights to make their own version of foreign successes and I for one can see how people are disappointed for Fincher taking this on as a project. Fincher could have crafted an excellent thriller that both remains faithful to Stieg Larsson's novel and also transcends and elevates it, but, isn't a man of Fincher's talents worth more than this? As a fan this does trouble me, however we really should look at the positives.

Through Fincher we can at least be glad that TGWTDT is in safe hands with a man that has carved his name in the genre. With the film's inevitably huge marketing campaign the film will be a success or at least a bigger success than it's Swedish counterpart. The extra exposure will encourage even more people to pick up copies of Larsson's novel and embark on the rest of his Millennium Trilogy. Going back to Fincher's handling of this project, in other hands this could easily have turned into a watered down nuts and bolts thriller that offensively tries to cash in on the widest audience possible; from the film's tagline "the feel bad film of the year" as well as Daniel Craig reporting that the film is an uncompromising adult drama means we can sit comfortably and knowingly that we should be in for a treat come December 26th. Seeing some of the film's evocative promotional posters (see below) indicates that Mr. Craig probably isn't exaggerating!

The only trouble the film could have and possible the element that will decide whether it sinks or swims is the performance of Rooney Mara giving us her interpretation of goth computer hacker (and possible aspergers sufferer) Lisbeth Salander - a complicated and much loved character that was faultlessly performed by Noomi Rapace and loved by both lovers of the books and films. Mara (25) had a small but pivotal role in The Social Network but hasn't had anything to really cut her teeth into until now, here she possibly has the most difficult task any actress has had all year - making audiences fall in love with Lisbeth again.