Mara Shines in Fincher's American Twist on 'Dragon Tattoo'

It seems that not every remake made by Hollywood is doomed for mediocrity. Well, at least not when director David Fincher and producer Scott Rudin are at the helm.

Entering into a world of cyber hackers and crack journalism, Fincher's American adaption of Stieg Larsson's great airline novel, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, paints a sleek, sexy, and nearly censor-less narrative about two seemingly dissimilar characters and their fearless attempt to solve a deep, brooding murder mystery.

Shortly after being convicted of libel and having only a few thousand Swedish kronor to his name, journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) receives a mysterious offer to hear a job proposal from Henrik Vagner (Christopher Plummer), a captain of industry and one of the most powerful men in Sweden. The hapless journalist, incapable of turning down a juicy lead, accepts and is quickly whisked away to the ominous northern town of Hedestad.

Vagner's proposition to Blomkvist, masked as a biography of his family, is to uncover the disappearance of his dear niece Harriet, an event that has haunted the industrialist for decades. Certain circumstances make the mystery a classic locked-room scenario, making Vanger convinced that one of his fellow family members is responsible. After accepting the offer, Blomkvist soon becomes obsessed with cracking the almost half century-old riddle. In order to complete his task, however, he requires a savvy research assistant.

Enter Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara), a chain-smoking cyber researcher whose disdain for the world is nearly as impressive as her intricate collection of body ink and piercings. Despite her incessant insubordination and complete lack of empathy, very few in Sweden can navigate a computer better than Salander.

Blomkvist tracks down Salander in Stockholm and convinces the man-hating researcher to join him in order to catch "a killer of women." The two meander through an endless collection of records and reports while also attempting and, at times, failing to resist palpable romantic urges. Soon, however, it becomes evident that the decades-old mystery is very much alive and keeping a close eye on the duo.

Dragon Tattoo is everything we've come to expect in a David Fincher film—it is violent, sexy, fast-paced, and constantly catapulting the audience out of its comfort zone. Fincher, again teamed up with Oscar-winning editor Angus Wall, keeps the narrative train hurling onward at a relentless pace. While its speed, at times, makes the plot trip over its own shoelaces, the ultimate result is a compelling film with a spine-tingling narrative backbone. At the very least, the average moviegoer will be hard pressed to find Dragon Tattoo cliched.

Be it Tyler Durden, Benjamin Button, or Mark Zuckerberg, David Fincher has always had a knack for artfully portraying characters living on the fringes of society. Lisbeth Salander is no exception. After being chosen from a list of virtually every actress in Hollywood, Rooney Mara's performance will undoubtedly propel the unknown actress into the upper echelons of Hollywood. Mara is so convincingly cold and distant as Salander that you almost feel compelled to reach out and hug the screen. In a rather tepid race for Best Actress, Mara has a shot for an Oscar nod. Then again, the Academy might feel a tad hesitant with Noomi Rapace already having powerfully depicted Salander in the trilogy of Swedish adaptations

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Craig, who gained weight for the role in order to distant himself from his Bond persona, also shines as Blomkvist. He is clever, handsome, and completely unable to pull himself away from the increasingly dangerous project.

This film, however, will not be enjoyed by every demographic. The scenes of graphic sexual violence, which are partially responsible for making the book series so famous, are in no way sugarcoated by Fincher. On screen, Salander and Blomkvist exist in a cruel and twisted world, a landscape of criminals where a flashlight beam barely illuminates the surrounding gloom.