Holy moly, what a ride!
I spent the first 20 minutes of the film dazed and confused and wishing I had read the book, a rundown of the plot, or something!! Then at the 90-minute mark, I realized that I’d been sucked in to this viceral, raw, tense thriller and that director David Fincher had me by the short & curlies!
You probably read the book and surely know the plot way better than I did: Journalist Mikael Blomkvist is aided in his search for a woman who has been missing for forty years by Lisbeth Salander, a young computer hacker. That’s it, really.
The family they work for, solving the mystery, is incredibly rich and screwed up. They add the ‘dis’ onto ‘functional’.
Daniel Craig is just great to watch (using a few more facial expressions here than in Cowboys & Aliens!) and is developing into a top-notch leading-man. He can carry a film anywhere.
Rooney Mara is mesmorizing in her strangeness and the supporting cast, with the likes of Christopher Plummer, Joely Richardson, Steven Berkoff and Stellan Skarsgård make the whole film just SO watchable.
Their are some graphic rape scenes, but they are handled so very well – nothing gratuitous. You feel the impact on the characters.
I have not read the book. I have not seen the original Swedish version of the film yet, so I cannot comment on the comparisons.
I have to make special mention of the opening title sequence: it’s like a James Bond semi-CGI animation on steroids! Hypnotic, graphic, violent, disturbing and worth sneaking in to watch again at the start of the next showing of the movie.
The movie is strong, well-acted, and superbly directed. Occasionally, I found myself wondering if things were being simplified for an American market, but I don’t actually now. The movie might actually be better viewed at home, in the privacy of your personal movie theatre!
Off The Leash recommends a DVD rental (but not because the film is bad; I think it’s a rare case of watching this at home might be more fun!)
