WHAT IS HIDDEN IN SNOW, COMES FORTH IN THE THAW.
Investigative reporter Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) is hired by a wealthy industrialist (Christopher Plummer) to look into the mysterious disappearing of his niece 40 years ago; he believes that a family member might have killed her.
This remake of the 2009 Swedish film rides the wave of the immensely popular “Millennium” books, but offers little new except a few changes in the final act. Evocatively shot in Sweden, the movie has a good cast and is just as brutal as the original.
Overlong, but it is a testament to the power of the story and David Fincher’s filmmaking skills that it works so well a second time. Opens with a knock-out title sequence.
2011-U.S. 158 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by David Fincher. Screenplay: Steven Zaillian. Novel: Stieg Larsson. Cinematography: Jeff Cronenweth. Music: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross. Editing: Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall. Cast: Daniel Craig (Mikael Blomkvist), Rooney Mara (Lisbeth Salander), Christopher Plummer (Henrik Vanger), Stellan Skarsgård, Steven Berkoff, Robin Wright, Joely Richardson, Goran Visnjic, Josefin Asplund, Per Myrberg, Gustaf Hammarsten, David Dencik, Inga Landgré, Joel Kinnaman… Peter Haber.
Trivia: Carey Mulligan and Anne Hathaway were considered for the role of Lisbeth; George Clooney and Johnny Depp as Blomkvist. Followed by The Girl in the Spider’s Web (2018).
Oscar: Best Editing.
Last word: “It cost more to make the movie, ironically, in Sweden. But it was worth it, because, you know, a 45-year-old journalist and a 23-year-old hacker who need each other and are leery of each other and have sex with each other and are friends with each other, if that takes place in Portland, Oregon, that’s a whole different story. It’s a different animal. Again, it was presented to me by Michael Lynton, Amy Pascal and Scott Rudin. They said, ‘read this book, it’s a Swedish book, it’s a gigantic book. It’s going to be a Swedish story, it’s R-rated, it’s for adults. We’re not sugar-coating it, that’s why we came to you. Go deep.’ I took them at their word.” (Fincher, Den of Geek)