David Fincher’s The
Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, adapted from Stieg Larsson’s book by
screenwriter Steven Zaillian, is the second such adaptation of the novel, the
first being a Swedish production from two years ago. It represents the growing
trend in Hollywood of taking popular and well-crafted films from overseas and
reshaping them for American audiences. Fincher’s version, which should really
be considered an alternative adaptation of the book more than a remake, is an
expertly made, great looking, moody and atmospheric yet totally conventional
thriller. Which is sort of like having the New York Philharmonic perform a
composition by a middle-schooler with mediocre musical ability. The conductor
is brilliant and his orchestra top-notch, but the music itself insists that we
ask why such talents were wasted in pursuit of something so pedestrian.
