The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Before writing this review, I feel that I should be very clear from where I am reviewing this film. I haven't read any of the books. I haven't seen the original 2009 film versions of the books and am therefore reviewing this as a standalone film.

The film starts with the aftermath of a libel court case, which journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig), lost against corrupt businessman Hans-Erik Wennerström. The financial implications of the court case are substantial and although Blomkvist has the support of his editor Erika Berger (Robin Wright), Blomkvist decides to take a leave of absence.

Meanwhile, Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) is researching Blomkvist for Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer), the former CEO of a family conglomerate, Vanger Industries. Salander is an extremely troubled, but highly intelligent woman who for reasons which aren't fully explained, is a ward of the state despite being in her 20's. This means that her finances are controlled by a court-appointed guardian. Although this isn't an ideal situation, it is one that worsens when she is appointed a new guardian who takes advantage of Salander's weak position.

Vanger requests to see Blomkvist on the family island in order to offer him a job. The job is in two parts; officially he is writing Vanger's memoirs, but in reality, he is to try to solve the mystery of his niece Harriet's disappearance forty years ago. Harriet's body has never been found and on the night that she went missing, the island was cut off from the mainland due to an accident on the bridge which is the only means of access.

Blomkvist reluctantly agrees to the job, on the understanding that Vanger provides him with damming information about Wennerström, who was a former employee of his.

Blomkvist moves into a cottage on the island and begins to piece together information about the Vanger family and in particular, Harriet. In order to investigate murders associated with the Vanger family, he asks the Vanger's lawyer Dirch Frode (Steven Berkoff) for a research assistant, Frode recommends Salander as she did such a thorough job researching Blomkvist. 

Salander agrees to work with Blomkvist and between them they work out what happened to Harriet and solve the murders that had eluded the police for over forty years.

First of all I should point out that the first 45 minutes of this film is a little slow, although punctuated with some graphic rape and revenge scenes, there isn't much going on. However, the story is a little complicated and requires the time so it can be fully understood by the audience.

Once Salander and Blomkvist come together, the pace picks up and the film gets very interesting and engrossing. There are several twists and turns which are unexpected and enjoyable. 

Mara is the real star of the film, she is captivating as the troubled Salander and she handled the film's more difficult scenes (the rape and revenge) brilliantly. She played Salander with a mixture of toughness, vulnerability and intelligence which was a pleasure to watch. Her last scene in the film was particularly heartbreaking.

Craig was more one-dimensional and showed very little emotion, however I am not sure if this was on purpose or just the way it came across. Plummer was great as the retired CEO and in one particular scene, was especially moving. 

The film was incredibly slick and beautifully shot with the brutal Swedish countryside being fully utilised. Although I will not be able to listen to Enya in quite the same way again, the music was great and very well suited to the film. 

Verdict: A very slick thriller which once it gets going, really does keep your attention. Mara is absolutely superb and Craig is watchable as always, although this is one of his weaker roles. Some graphic, but necessary scenes make this a tough watch at times, but a very engrossing film nonetheless. I look forward to the other two films in the Millennium trilogy.