‘The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo’ a promising trilogy start

Saturated in equal parts ivory snow, ultra-violent blood and treacherous mystery, “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” transports Sweden’s most notorious thriller to American screens with just as much style and substance as the Nordic original… “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”

Staring: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer

Directed by David Fincher

Grade: A

Saturated in equal parts ivory snow, ultra-violent blood and treacherous mystery, “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” transports Sweden’s most notorious thriller to American screens with just as much style and substance as the Nordic original.

Based on the first volume of author Stieg Larsson’s “Millennium Trilogy,” the film follows disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) as he seeks to uncover the truth about industrialist Henrik Vanger’s (Christopher Plummer) long-missing niece in the secluded north of Sweden. With the assistance of the ever-so-slightly psychotic researcher Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara), Blomkvist uncovers a history of sadism in the Vanger clan that unravels much more than just what happened to a child 40 years before.

The visual style immerses the viewer in Sweden, bringing Scandinavia to high-contrast life without copying the artistic power of the previous version made for Swedish television in 2009. Fincher has proved himself to be a master of the modern thriller with successes from “Panic Room” to “The Social Network,” and it’s no surprise that some key personnel from the latter reappear.

Jeff Cronenweth’s cinematography and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ brooding music create an atmosphere that could be comparable to the sweepingly epic James Bond bravado of old. A visual barrage of abstract images literally paints the dragon on Mara’s back at the beginning in a sequence to rival any Albert R. Broccoli production.

Mara will undoubtedly — and justly — earn praise with her dramatically detached portrayal of Lisbeth, but it’s Craig’s emotionally active portrayal of Blomkvist that shines into all three dimensions. The timid journalist is no James Bond, and Craig paints him in textured detail distinct from the martini-swilling swine. Plummer’s addition to the cast adds a sense of dignity as the kind and loving Vanger that only the legendary thespian can provide.

The novel’s original name in Swedish translates to “Men Who Hate Women,” and anyone who can’t handle the sadistic extremities of the human soul should probably steer clear of the exceedingly violent rape and torture scenes that are presented throughout. Despite this, the film is no “Saw” and contains a story that is immersed in the history of the place and the humanity — and inhumanity — of Sweden’s upper-crust. The narrative seeps into the nooks and crannies of the crime with every piece of evidence grafted to the screen as Rooney and Craig uncover them.

With two more volumes in the trilogy already optioned, “The Girl Who Played With Fire” and “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest” will be forced to live up to the high standard Fincher has set with this inaugural volume in what will hopefully be a new American trilogy.