Setting down a marker: Film review

US remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo pulls off some bold alterations to Stieg Larsson’s original novel

As a devotee of Stieg Larsson's novel, and of the 2009 Swedish film adaptation, I was nonetheless concerned that the omnipresent Lisbeth Salander (the ‘Girl with the Dragon Tattoo') might feel rather old-hat on her third appearance. I pleased to report that this is not the case.

It's a rare thing to have a story told to you multiple times and remain engaged, and yet David Fincher's brooding and intelligent interpretation has injected fresh life into a familiar narrative.

Much of the credit for this is due to the bold alterations Fincher makes to Larsson's novel. Picking up on the book's original Swedish title, Men Who Hate Women, Fincher throws the focus firmly onto the vicious strain of misogyny that runs throughout much of the story. From Salander's unscrupulous new guardian, to savage serial killings perpetrated in the 1950s and '60s, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo depicts women-hating, not just as an aberration among particular characters, but as a culture operating across decades.

Praise is also due to Rooney Mara in the title role. With a temperament frostier than a Swedish winter, the young actress manages to convey the difficult duality of a character at once aloof and detached, but also painfully lonely and yearning for affection. I got the impression that the portrayal was perhaps marginally warmer than Noomi Rapace's take in the Swedish version, and certainly more humane than Larsson's dysfunctional savant, but this did nothing to detract from the strength of the performance. Indeed, knocking off some of Salander's rougher edges may have made her character more accessible and sympathetic for a wider audience.

Daniel Craig's portrayal of Mikhail Blomkvist is less assured, however. Although every inch the Hollywood action hero, I felt Craig failed to capture the reporter's subversive mischievousness, so intrinsic to the character in the book.

During the course of the film, Craig also develops the exceptionally annoying habit of wearing his glasses dangling from one ear, pendulously swinging beneath his chin, never to be worn. A minor detail, but highly distracting once spotted.

Still, these are insignificant niggles. David Fincher has achieved a laudable feat in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; a US remake that is equal, if not superior to, its European progenitor. One can only hope that the high standard set by this film can be maintained into 2012.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (18)

Rating: ****

N2 film reviews – supported by Newbury Vue