The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

Adapted from Stieg Larsson's acclaimed set of novels, the 2011 version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is something of a strange film when viewed ten years on after its release. The Swedish film industry had already produced a successful trilogy that concluded in 2009 so why remake it in English while keeping the Swedish setting? Well, money of course as Hollywood saw an opportunity to take an established IP and introduce it to a wider audience.

With David Fincher perfectly in his element as director combined with a strong cast that includes Rooney Mara, Daniel Craig, Stellan Skarsgård, Robin Wright and the late Christopher Plummer, as well as a talented crew behind the scenes, the stage was set for an exciting trilogy but they only went as far as making one film. Today all hopes of that expected trilogy are long gone with Sony churning out the quickly forgotten The Girl in the Spider's Web from 2018 with an entirely different cast seemingly there to only hold onto the creative rights. So is this worth watching today even if it's the first chapter in an unfinished retelling of Larsson's series?

Stepping into the shoes left by Noomi Rapace, Mara stars as computer hacker Lisbeth Salander who aids a disgraced journalist (Craig) in investigating the disappearance of a woman who hasn't been seen in over forty years at the request of her aging uncle, played by Plummer. The story is famously dark and very unpleasant in a few key scenes making Fincher the perfect choice to introduce it to English speaking audiences following is work with the likes of Seven and Zodiac. He was also fresh off the success of The Social Network but for some reason Sony decided to release this right around Christmas which likely played a factor in the film's disappointing box office performance.

It's a shame this didn't find much success, even with five Oscar nominations while winning for its editing, as TGWTDT is still a perfectly good film and it left me wanting to see what Fincher would do next if he made his first ever sequel to his own work. Instead, we went on to help produce House of Cards in 2013 for Netflix and then direct Gone Girl in 2014. Back with the film, I did find the first act to be a little uneven, with Craig's half of the story feeling more engaging than Mara's, but once the two met the pace of the film gained momentum making it more entertaining to watch. Well entertaining so long as you can get past that scene with Lisbeth.

There's also something about the visuals and atmosphere which cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth establishes perfectly, while supported by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' subtle score, that brings this chilly part of northern Sweden to life. So much care and attention to detail went into this on both sides of the camera as I watched the in-depth behind-the-scenes making it all the more disappointing we'll never get the next chapter. Mara is perfect as Salander, as is Craig taking a break from Bond to be the journalist, Mikael. Both have great chemistry onscreen and thankfully screenwriter Steven Zaillian offers a story that concludes on a note that left the door open for another film while importantly tying-up any loose threads.

Fortunately, TGWTDT is a satisfying film in its own right without relying on the sequel that never came to be to support it. It isn't Fincher's best work however when compared to his talented filmography but it is great to see Hollywood took a chance at making an expensive, dark and very mature adult thriller with such talent involved. It is one piece of a puzzle and when there's a complete trilogy based on the same story, this could so easily be overlooked but it's still a very good film as it is and any fans of Fincher would be remiss if they overlooked this.