Director: David Fincher
Writers: Steven Zaillian,
Stieg Larsson (novel)
Starring: Daniel Craig,
Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgård, Steven Berkoff, Robin
Wrigtht, Yorick van Wageningen, Joely Richardson, Geraldine James, Goran Visnjic
Seeing the U.S. version of “The
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” a second time solidifies it as an example of the
excellence of director David Fincher. In this film, he’s taken a work of pulp
fiction from its source and created something that transcends its origins. His
version of this fairly basic crime mystery displays a mastery of character,
setting, suspense, structure, mood, and imagery.
Fincher’s masterstroke,
however, is the casting of Rooney Mara as the titular girl, Lizbeth Salander.
Mara was a fairly untested actress before this role. Her only starring role was
in a horror remake of “A Nightmare on Elm Street”, not an acting pinnacle by
any standards. Fincher worked with her for two scenes in his masterpiece “The
Social Network”, including the crucial opening scene. Nothing she did before
this film, however, suggested how perfect she would be for this role.
I think one of the film’s
only weaknesses lies within another casting choice, and that may not be a
noticeable detail to people who don’t obsess over movies as I do. Stellan
Skarsgård is an excellent actor and doesn’t step wrong in his role as Martin,
but his presence makes the major element of the plot’s conclusion a little
obvious. A more obscure actor might’ve worked better in this role for the purposes
of the plot’s mysteries. But, perhaps someone who hasn’t paid as much attention
to his career as I have would be a better judge.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment