If you’ve seen the Swedish-language version of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” watching the English version, directed by David Fincher and starring Daniel “James Bond” Craig, will be an academic exercise. It will hold no surprises, other than the decision of Fincher and screenwriter Steven Zaillian to modify the ending. Up until that point, it feels like an almost rote implementation of the story. That doesn’t mean it isn’t worth seeing; I enjoyed being able to follow the plot without reading subtitles.
If you haven’t seen the Swedish-language version of the movie or read the English translation of the novel on which it’s based, and if you can stomach disturbing material and have no aversion to graphic sex, then prepare to be impressed. “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” tells a terrific story, one that’s best experienced fresh, as it contains many surprises. The ending in particular is unexpected and supremely satisfying.
I should clarify something. When I wrote “the ending” in the preceding paragraph, I was referring to how the central storyline concludes. When I wrote “the ending” in the first paragraph, I was referring to the third ending that comes right before the closing credits. Yes, there’s also a second ending.
If there’s a problem with “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” it’s a lack of tightness in its final 20 minutes. The movie opens with investigative journalist Mikael Blompkvist getting raked over the coals in court for publishing a story judged to be libelous. He loses everything, which puts him in a vulnerable position and opens him up to an offer from a rich man, Henrik Vanger, who wants him to look into the murder of his granddaughter 35 years ago. Before reaching out to hire Blompkvist, Vanger had his lawyer do a background check on him. The lawyer hired the services of a company that employs a brilliant computer hacker and investigator named Lisbeth Salander. When Blompkvist reaches a roadblock in his investigation, he hires the young Salander to help him.
I will say nothing more about the story, other than sexual violence, extreme depravity and the kind of deep seeded evil that puts a chill in your bones all play a large role in the story. This is not a movie for viewers who are squeamish or easily upset.
It is, however, good material for Flincher, who’s at home exploring the darker chambers of the human heart. As with “Seven,” “Zodiac Killer” and “Panic Room,” he doesn’t shy away from things that are hard to watch, and his technical specs are impeccable. Fincher chose to saturate most of the movie with the grey hues of winter, and for most of its running time, I actually felt cold. Given the themes at the center of the movie, his choice was a good one.
Not as good is the protracted ending. Upon wrapping up the main storyline, Fincher and Zaillian delve back into the story of the lawsuit. The Swedish film did the same thing, but it felt more economical.
At this point, the movie stumbles. For reasons I won’t reveal, Blompkvist comes across as self-centered and insensitive, and Salander undergoes a sudden transformation from an angry young woman to a pouting and jilted lover. Compared to the aggressive efficiency of the central storyline, the second and third endings are sloppy and awkward.
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” is still an extremely well made and gratifying thriller. Moreover, it contains a performance by Rooney Mara as Salander that’s every bit as good as what Noomi Rapace delivered in the Swedish version. Salander is a challenging role, given what the character has been through, what she has become, and what she must endure, and the subtext and history are all there in Mara’s performance. You don’t need to be told that something happened that created the hard shell in which Salander exists, because it’s there in every expression, in the tension in her limbs, and in the way she speaks.
See the movie at your own risk, though. There are things that are hard to shake.
Rated R for brutal violence including rape, torture, strong sexuality, graphic nudity and language. Three stars out of four. Email David Laprad at dlaprad@hamiltoncountyherald.com.