PCP on DVD - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

David Fincher is one of my favorite directors.  Seven and Fight Club are two of the best movies of the 90s, and his last film The Social Network was outstanding (my review here).  He is great at doing dark and twisted films, and also great at getting excellent performances out of his actors.  So even though I had already seen the Swedish version of this movie (my review here), I was excited to see his take on the franchise.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - 2011, rated R.  My rating:  8 out of 10. 

I really wanted to love this take on TGWTDT.  I did like it, but I found myself continuously comparing it to the Swedish version.  Also, having seen the Swedish version, I already knew who the killer was going to wind up being, (I never read the books), so that took some of the suspense out of the film.  Also, I mentioned in my review of the Swedish version of the film that not having familiar faces increases the suspense because you have no idea who the killer may be. Knowing who the killer was here killed a lot of the tension, so perhaps I would have liked this movie better had I not seen the Swedish version first and been comparing it to this one at every turn.

This version of TGWTDT is pretty good though, and if you haven't read the books or seen the Swedish versions, I do recommend it.  Fincher again isn't afraid to go dark on the film, showing some rape sequences that are horrifyingly brutal. Relative newcomer Rooney Mara is outstanding in the titular role, coming very darn close to if not surpassing at times the take by Noomi Rapace in the Swedish version.  All in all though, this film is good albeit bleak and depressing due to the violence and stark nature of the subject material.  The movie is definitely worth checking out, but not on a date night, that's for sure!