Book
Film
ThrillerGone Girl
Gillian Flynn · 2012 → 2014
Goodreads4.1/5
Audience Score7.8/10
Faithfulness91%
HBO Max· included
Novel Adaptation
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Stieg Larsson · 2005 → Film 2011
The BookGoodreads
4.1/ 5
1.9M ratings
2005
The FilmAudience Score
7.8/ 10
15K ratings
TMDB
2011158 min
Faithfulness to source82%
Highly faithful
📖Our Verdict · Read First
“The Vanger family tree is complex — the book maps it; the film assumes you keep up.”
Larsson's novel takes its time with the Vanger family history — there are dozens of characters across several decades, and understanding who hated whom is essential to the mystery's payoff. Fincher's film moves too fast to establish this properly, which is why some viewers find the ending confusing. Read first; the film then becomes a lean, stylish companion.
Editorial Team, PageToScreen
📖
About the Book
Disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist and brilliant hacker Lisbeth Salander investigate the decades-old disappearance of a woman from a wealthy Swedish family. Originally titled 'Men Who Hate Women', Larsson's novel is simultaneously a propulsive thriller, a searing indictment of misogyny, and a portrait of a woman who refuses to be a victim. Larsson died before seeing its global success.
🎬
About the Film
Fincher's Hollywood remake is leaner and colder than the Swedish original, with Rooney Mara's Lisbeth a more contained and fearsome creation. Trent Reznor's score is one of cinema's best. Some subplots — particularly around the Vanger family history — are trimmed, and the closing act is noticeably rushed. Still an exceptional thriller, and Mara's performance is worth the price of admission alone.
Details
Genre
Mystery
Source Type
Novel
Year Published
2005
Year Released
2011
Director
David Fincher
Runtime
158 min
Adaptation Type
Feature Film
Community Poll
Which did people prefer?
22.0k votes cast
📖 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo58%
12.7k votes
🎬 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo42%
9.3k votes
