Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara and Christopher Plummer in the David Fincher movie ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’

Drawn from the posthumously published Stieg Larsson book The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo of 2005, David Fincher offered edgy suspense, menacing thriller elements, appalling crime and an unlikely heroine and hero pair overcoming powerful forces pitted against the very serious forces of societal politics, family politics and dark secrets that have been hidden for better than forty years. Today we review The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011).

(From left, Daniel Craig as Mikael Blomkvist and Robin Wright as Erika Berger in the David Fincher movie The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo).

Daniel Craig portrayed Mikael Blomkvist, co-owner of a prominent magazine based in Sweden. After losing a libel lawsuit to businessman Hans-Erik Wennerström as portrayed by Ulf Friberg, Blomkvist is looking to step away from the magazine when wealthy Henrik Vanger, as portrayed by Christopher Plummer, offers him an unusual request that eases and causes strife in the relationship has with his magazine co-owner and married lover. That co-owner and lover, Erika Berger, is portrayed by Robin Wright.

(From left, Goran Visnjic as Dragan Armansky and Steven Berkoff as Dirch Frode in the David Fincher movie The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo).

That proposition from Henrik Vanger is vetted through Vanger’s lawyer Dirch Frode, as portrayed by Steven Berkoff. A delicate and criminal background check offered by Dragan Armansky, as portrayed by Goran Visnjic, introduces the hacker and girl with the dragon tattoo that provided the incredibly detailed and personal background check of Mikael Blomkvist. The offer Vanger makes to Blomkvist is to investigate the 40-year-old disappearance and presumed murder of Henrik’s grandniece, 16-year-old Harriet Vanger.

(Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander in the David Fincher movie The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo).

Lisbeth Salander, as portrayed by Rooney Mara, is the hacker who investigates quite deeply, tactfully, and with an exceptional level of quality for the business run by Dragan Armansky. Dark events in Salander’s past add depth to her story, which is as brutal in the present and past tense. The Lisbeth Salander storyline rivals everything that Mikael Blomkvist finds while investigating Henrik Vanger’s family, the business now run by Martin Vanger, or the antisemitism that runs underneath many of the metaphorical rocks moved about during this investigation.

(From left, Stellan Skarsgård as Martin Vanger and Christopher Plummer as Henrik Vanger in the David Fincher movie The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo).

We see much in the background of Lisbeth Salander both in parallel to the work being performed by Mikael Blomkvist and then in concert with that work. We are introduced to some honorable work by Holger Palmgren, as portrayed by Bengt C.W. Carlsson, and then much less than honorable work by Nils Bjurman. Yorick van Wageningen portrayed Nils Bjurman. The notion of there being mystery, thriller and criminal elements within The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo are addressed in edgy and difficult detail within the movie.

(From left, Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander and Daniel Craig as Mikael Blomkvist in the David Fincher movie The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo).

The directness of the content without effort to tread lightly on the source material of the novel underlying this movie offers something compelling in the direction for this film. There are credible hints for the type of movie we have here that still leaves much in terms of depth for you to find and enjoy within a new or fresh viewing of the film.

(From left, Joely Richardson as Anita Vanger and Yorick van Wageningen as Nils Bjurman in the David Fincher movie The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo).

That there are many layers to the source material that are brought to the screen adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo speak credibly to the achievement that screenwriter Steven Zaillian and director David Fincher make with the movie. Working with difficult themes for mature themes without crossing a line into confusing messages or gratuitous exposition were accomplishments of delivery that lets me respect the work done here. I grant The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo as directed by David Fincher 4.25-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Saturday, January 29, 2022

Leonardo DiCaprio and Daniel Day-Lewis in Martin Scorsese’s film ‘Gangs of New York’

Consider your favorite movie about coming of age, revenge and gang violence. Mix in blatant notes of racism, misogyny, religious prejudice and immigration with chords of historical resonance. With the Herbert Asbury‘s non-fiction book The Gangs of New York as an inspiration, the Martin Scorsese directed movie Gangs of New York (2002) earns today’s spotlight for the movie world.

(Leonardo DiCaprio as Amsterdam Vallon, left, and Jim Broadbent as Boss Tweed in the film Gangs of New York).

The film Gangs of New York is primarily set in the slums of New York City, New York in the year 1862. Much of the story builds on events from 1846, wherein rival gangs of were shown to fight with knives, clubs and similar weaponry over which faction would hold sway, that is control the illegal functioning of life, within the Five Points neighborhood of lower Manhattan in New York City.

(Daniel Day-Lewis as Bill ‘The Butcher’ Cutting in the film Gangs of New York).

Bill ‘The Butcher’ Cutting, as played by Daniel Day-Lewis, fought in one end of the struggle of gangs dating back to 1846. The struggle pitted Cutting and a set of early settlers of the Five Points, against Irish immigrant gangs led by ‘Priest’ Vallon. The elder Vallon was played by Liam Neeson, who dies in that epic opening battle. Without getting into questions of the familial history of Vallon’s wife or the true profession of ‘Priest’ Vallon, we know that Vallon’s death leaves his son an orphan.

(Cameron Diaz as Jenny Everdeane, standing, and Daniel Day-Lewis as Bill ‘The Butcher’ Cutting, sitting in the film Gangs of New York).

The movie then advances the narrative 16-years, from 1846 to 1862. Cutting sits atop the hierarchy of the Five Points with Boss Tweed (aka William Magear Tweed) of Tammany Hall the politician atop the political structure for the full city. The orphaned son of ‘Priest’ Vallon, who hides his identity from the start by calling himself Amsterdam, returns to the city after aging out of his orphaned upbringing. Jim Broadbent played Boss Tweed in Gangs of New York whereas Leonardo DiCaprio played Amsterdam Vallon.

(John C. Reilly as Happy Jack, center left, Liam Neeson as ‘Priest’ Vallon, center, and Brendan Gleeson as Walter ‘Monk’ McGinn, center right in the film Gangs of New York).

It is soon after returning to the Five Points that, in following Amsterdam Vallon, we slowly see the priests son begin recognizing folks who fought with his father in 1846 having blended into lower Manhattan under the sway of Bill Cutting. Happy Jack as played by John C. Reilly has become a corrupt policeman under the thumb of the Butcher. Walter ‘Monk’ McGinn as played by Brendan Gleeson bridges the stories of ‘Priest’ and ‘Amsterdam’ from a beneficent perspective better than anyone in the film.

(Henry Thomas as Johnny Sirocco, left, and Leonardo DiCaprio as Amsterdam Vallen in the film Gangs of New York).

It is in the stories of Johnny Sirocco, played by Henry Thomas, and Jenny Everdeane, as played by Cameron Diaz, that we begin to see the true vengeance story of Amsterdam Vallon begin to play out. It is in the politics of the Boss Tweed story line that we begin to see the narrative of the film, which diverges significantly from the book, take hold. The love triangle among Amsterdam , Johnny, and Jenny holds sway over learning who Amsterdam is becoming. Jenny’s story in relation to Bill Cutter holds sway over the story over who Amsterdam is becoming. The story of what America is becoming runs parallel to these stories.

(Leonardo DiCaprio as Amsterdam Vallen, left, and Gary Lewis as McGloin in the film Gangs of New York).

The emotional depth of the narrative in the film Gangs of New York, along with where the turn of the story towards climax, bears much of the fruit I have come to expect of many films by Martin Scorese. The presence and complexity of the character of Bill McGloin, who fought with ‘Priest’ Vallon and the others in 1846, is perhaps a leading example of the turns that occurred. The emotional payoff for him comes late in the film; the slow burn carries a bit of emotional punch that was strong that that of Happy Jack, for example. The resolutions of Johnny Sirocco, Walter McGinn, Jenny Everdeane, Amsterdam and Bill were the most poignant in the film.

(Daniel Day-Lewis as Bill ‘The Butcher’ Cutting, left, between scenes with Gangs of New York director Martin Scorsese).

The historical push that closed the film, with the much anticipated retelling of the opening fight come 16-years later, is perhaps my biggest disappointment in the whole film. All this tension wrought in almost three-hours of movie didn’t end with the emotional catharsis that the story has spent so much building. There was a scene between McGinn and Cutting that hinted at that, yet my harshest criticism of the actual film was this. I rate Gangs of New York at 3.75-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Wednesday, March 18, 2020