The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

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.

Director:

David Fincher

Writers:

Steven Zaillian (screenplay), Stieg Larsson (novel)

Stars:

Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer

Won 1 Oscar. Another 14 wins & 33 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Daniel Craig	...	Mikael Blomkvist
Rooney Mara	...	Lisbeth Salander
Christopher Plummer	...	Henrik Vanger
Stellan Skarsgård	...	Martin Vanger
Steven Berkoff	...	Dirch Frode
Robin Wright	...	Erika Berger
Yorick van Wageningen	...	Nils Bjurman
Joely Richardson	...	Anita Vanger
Geraldine James	...	Cecilia Vanger
Goran Visnjic	...	Dragan Armansky
Donald Sumpter	...	Detective Inspector Gustaf Morell
Ulf Friberg	...	Hans-Erik Wennerström
Bengt C.W. Carlsson	...	Holger Palmgren
Tony Way	...	Plague
Per Myrberg	...	Harald Vanger

Storyline

This English-language adaptation of the Swedish novel by Stieg Larsson follows a disgraced journalist, Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig), as he investigates the disappearance of a wealthy patriarch's niece from 40 years ago. He is aided by the pierced, tattooed, punk computer hacker named Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara). As they work together in the investigation, Blomkvist and Salander uncover immense corruption beyond anything they have ever imagined.

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Plot Keywords:

journalist | computer hacker | background check | disappearance | libel | 

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Taglines:

The Feel Bad Movie of Christmas

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for brutal violent content including rape and torture, strong sexuality, graphic nudity, and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA Sweden Norway

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 December 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

La chica del dragón tatuado

Filming Locations:

Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, Ullensaker, Akershus, Norway

Box Office

Budget:

$90,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$12,750,000 (USA) (23 December 2011)

Gross:

$102,515,793 (USA) (16 March 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Scott Rudin Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

158 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The full musical score was released on December 9, 2011. Seven days prior to the official release, composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross released a 6-track sampler of the score online for free. The download was also accompanied by a free 8-minute trailer for the film available via iTunes.

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Goofs

Blomkvist's MacBook Pro magically downgraded itself from Mac OS X Lion to Mac OS X Tiger during the movie. Even if he did want to downgrade the OS himself, that would be entirely impossible due to the fact that Tiger cannot run on the hardware present in the Macbook Pro displayed.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Detective Inspector Gustaf Morell: What kind is it?
Henrik Vanger: I don't know. White?
Detective Inspector Gustaf Morell: And the frame?
Henrik Vanger: Dark.
Detective Inspector Gustaf Morell: Postmark?
Henrik Vanger: Same as last time.
Detective Inspector Gustaf Morell: And no note.
Henrik Vanger: No.
Detective Inspector Gustaf Morell: I'm so sorry, Henrik.

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Crazy Credits

At the beginning of the film's opening studio intros of Columbia and MGM, Leo, the MGM mascot's roar is silenced.

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Connections

Followed by The Girl Who Played with Fire

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Soundtracks

"Is Your Love Strong Enough"
Written By Bryan Ferry
Produced And Performed By
How To Destroy Angels

User Reviews

The best adaptation imaginable with an intoxicating, Oscar-worthy performance from Rooney Mara

Chilling, haunting and relentlessly thrilling, director David Fincher has created the definitive film adaptation of Larssons best seller whilst at the same time improving on the source material. A brilliant performance from Rooney Mara only elevates the film to greater heights

The Review:

Ill cut to the chase: this is everything fans of the books could have hoped for, its miles better than the already good Swedish film, its more faithful to the novel, in some places it actually improves on the source material.

With "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" David Fincher has put his trademark darkness to fantastic use. Whether its sweeping shots of freezing, snow covered Sweden or wonderfully eerie interiors Fincher creates an unsettling atmosphere that is unrelenting and technically perfect. With Fincher i've learnt to expect a beautifully shot film and this is no exception, within this film are some of his greatest images. Regarding the disturbing nature of some scenes, Fincher is wise enough to show them in all their horror but doesn't stop to linger or exploit.

The performances are perfect all round, Its clear Fincher and the casting production went to great lengths to pick not only great actors but those who embody the very essence of their characters. Of note in the supporting characters are Yorick van Wageningen who plays the sadistic Bjurman with unsettling believability and the always great Christopher plummer who is note-perfect as the desperate, loney grandfather Henrik .- As one part of our central duo Daniel Craig puts in his finest performance, normally cast as the tough hero Craig is more subdued here, he has Blomkvist easy charm down to a T but also captures the weak, submissive aspect of his character. - Lisbeth Salander is a character unlike anything fiction has ever seen….broken,pierced, clade in leather with short black hair and a body so slight the wind could break her, she is horribly victimised but refuses to be one. To sum it up she is one of the most interesting and difficult characters an actress could ever play. I could honestly write a whole review on the brilliance of Rooney Mara's performance, she is the very essence of Lisbeth…as if the character just walked off the page. Mara commands every scene with a mixture of silent burning rage and a deep rooted venerability. Her eyes are the heart of the film, her reactions are the reason myself and the others around me laughed, gasped and even cried. The character requires an actress who can internalize her emotions yet at the same time convay a wide range of feelings. Mara does this such perfect skill, every glance is charged with deep feeling as if you're looking directly into her soul. A brave performance, Mara bares all in the nude scenes and goes to frankly horribly dark places in the now informous scenes of sexual violence. Watching Rooney Mara is witnessing the birth of a star, this is the best performance of the year and if the Oscars fail to reconzie her i will lose all hope in their judgment.

The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is perfect, eerie and unsettling. It is as good as their Oscar winning score last year if not better, its more understated and does what every score should do....improves the scenes not overpower them.

This is by and large a perfect adaptation, my main issue lay with one singe sequence. There is a shot that seems to be there solely for the purpose of showing off, it serves no real purpose within the story.

The most touching scenes of the film come from the characters themselves, this is a character driven story and none are more powerful than Lisbeth and Mikeal themselves. Fincher makes their relationship the focus and it pays off, they are the heart of the books and Fincher rightfully recognises this.

Proving that sometimes "american" adaptations can actually be for the better this is a film nobody should miss...its everything the novel is, plus some. More than anything i was impressed by the humour that is added through-out, this film will make you laugh, it will break your heart and it will make you want to take a shower.