Plot: Journalist Mikael (Daniel Craig) is sought by a wealthy man, Henrik (Christopher Plummer) to find out what happened to his niece, Harriet, forty years ago. As he tries to uncover the mystery, he seeks the help of Lisbeth (Rooney Mara), a troubled and disturbed computer hacker.
Review: I haven't finished reading the book itself so I'm reviewing this movie entirely separately from the novel itself.
This is a fantastic film. Completely blew me away.
Firstly, the plot is fascinating, unique and intriguing. What I like about the plot is that we have the plots for two completely different characters. We have Mikael investigating Harriet's disappearance and her family. And then we have Lisbeth and her struggles. Mikael and Lisbeth's plots aren't really similar yet when they start working together, the plot blends together perfectly.
The acting is phenomenal. The cast is fairly large and everyone stands out, but I'll just give my thoughts on those I think are important. Daniel Craig, who most of us associate with James Bond, is great in this. I didn't think of James Bond when I saw Daniel Craig on-screen. I thought of him as your normal, typical guy that gets himself in a what becomes a twisted and deadly situation.
Christopher Plummer is superb as Henrik, a man who is desperate for the truth. You feel for him throughout the film.
Yorick van Wageningen plays Nils, a government worker who takes advantage of Lisbeth and her situation. He is vile and a complete piece of crap. And he sells it perfectly. You never feel bad for the character and what happens to him and Wageningen plays it very well.
Stellan Skarsgard plays Martin, a member of the Vanger family. I've always liked his work and he shines in this. His range is incredible.
But the true star in this is Rooney Mara as Lisbeth. Her performance is chilling, disturbing, dark and powerful. If you've seen pictures of Rooney herself, she is completely unrecognizable in this. Her ability to portray Lisbeth's psychological problems, her way of thinking and how she interacts with people. Also, Rooney Mara is an American and you wouldn't think that she is because she does a great Swedish accent. When the film ends, you feel terrible for her. If Rooney Mara doesn't get an Oscar nomination for her powerful performance, there's no justice.
The film is so layered in its themes such as violence against women, how we perceive people in society, criminals etc. that the film and the novel itself can be a good discussion topic.
The film runs for approximately 158 minutes. It actually doesn't feel like it runs for that long until near the end. There were some scenes that I thought could've ended the film better. For example, Lisbeth and Mikael reunite after everything's been solved and she tells him she'll see him soon and she walks away. That I thought would've been a good ending. Even though the ending is sad, it is pivotal to Lisbeth's character development, who can now possibly feel something. I do believe they had the ending like that because it opens up the possibility for adaptations of the two other novels in the trilogy.
David Fincher directed this and he does an amazing job, as he usually does. I have a feeling that this will get him an Oscar nomination for Best Director. He pays very close attention to the details.
A recurring theme I see in David Fincher's films is that there's humor in films you wouldn't expect. Fincher directed Zodiac, which tells the story of the Zodiac Killer, who has still not been found. That film had good, humorous moments where you wouldn't expect it. His other most recent film, The Social Network, which tells us about the founding of Facebook, was surprisingly funny in many aspects. But the real humor in this isn't jokes that are told. Instead, it is the way that either Daniel Craig or Rooney Mara deliver their lines and their facial expressions.
I have a feeling this is going to be one of the big contenders at the Oscars this year. I believe that the film will be nominated in the categories of Best Actress for Rooney Mara, Best Director for David Fincher and Best Makeup. The Oscars this year have weird rules for nominations for Best Picture. I think The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo will get nominated for Best Picture. I'll even go as far to say that Daniel Craig might even get an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. But we'll see when they announce the nominations.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a brilliant, disturbing, dark and twisted film that must be seen and appreciated. One of the best movies of 2011.
Rating: 4.5/5
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