FILM REVIEW: "Girl With The Dragon Tattoo"

[Rachel Galvin]

(Possible Spoilers)

By Rachel Galvin

It is nice to see a leading lady who makes no excuses for who she is. She allows herself to be aggressive, violent and even insane, yet likable, withdrawn, introverted and vulnerable. Lisbeth Salander is a character many actresses both dream about yet fear. The beautiful Rooney Mara stripped away convention, literally, to become this part. No more Hollywood glamour ... saying this character is rough around the edges is an understatement. 

"Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" puts Salander at the forefront, but her character isn't the whole story, just part of it, the most intriguing part. The story also follows Mikael Blomkvist (played by Daniel Craig), a journalist who has gotten into trouble for printing something untrue. His back story with this legal matter is both labored over and not explained enough at the same time. It isn't until he meets Salander, whose story draws you in from the get-go, that the plot begins to gel. Evidently, in the original Swedish version of the film, the action begins much quicker.

Blomkvist gets caught up in a murder mystery, a who-dun it, and the suspects are each one more interesting and closed off than the next. In a family that doesn't speak to each other, many secrets are hidden and Blomkvist, stuck in the blistery snow, becomes wrapped up in the suspense and eventually brings Salander in as a research assistant to help him unravel it. But, in the midst of discovery, it seems the killer has discovered their results and Blomkvist and Salander find they are now the prey.

Unlike Craig, Salander has dealt with a hard life and isn't about to let anyone get in her way. We explicitly see some of her circumstances earlier in the film. As a ward of the state at the age of 23, she has been kept on a short leash. When her warden of sorts suffers a stroke, she finds the next "jailor" to be much more cruel, forcing her to succumb to giving him sexual favors in exchange for the money she needs to buy high-tech surveillance and hacking equipment for her secret job as an investigator. When he brutally rapes her (Very graphically), she has had enough and shows him who really is boss, a turn of fair play that left some of the audience cheering. Once her leash is off, she becomes as dangerous as an untamed animal and twice as cunning. But she remains guarded, locked in by her own personal sense of security of self. This film seems to go against that by allowing her to be vulnerable with Craig, which seems untrue for her character. She would not, for instance, allow him to "be on top" literally or figuratively for even a moment. She certainly would not allow herself to buy him trifles or hold onto his photo or feel betrayal. Although we certainly see some vulnerability even in the beginning from her, something is lacking in this part of her character that makes moments with Craig not quite true. Although, other reviewers disagreed. It would have been much more powerful for her to have an affair with Craig just out of the pure lust of it. That would have showed a powerful, aggressive woman who knows what she wants and how to get it, and doesn't stop or let emotion get in her way. But was that too much (especially for Hollywood -- the land that seems to prefer more of a submissive woman overall or at least one who is drop dead gorgeous while kicking butt)?

This film is not for everyone. With graphic sex, nudity, ultra violence and graphic torture, incest, rape and a lot of smoking, it is sure to make many want to turn away. But those who enjoy the mystery and Salander's strong will to overcome all odds, will want to come back for, hopefully, a sequel. Those who saw the first film may prefer it to this picture, especially because this one, evidently, had a slower start and a longer drawn out ending than the first. This one ends on a melodramatic note...  Hopefully, this film will also bring back punk style... it already has inspired H&M to do a line based on Salander's clothing!