2011
Based on the popular novel of the same name by Stieg Larsson this movie is a taut, well acted murder mystery that keeps you guessing and intrigued throughout. Starring Daniel Craig as disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist and Rooney Mara as Lisbeteh Salander the story has a several twists and turns that serve to define the principal characters.
Blomkvist, fresh off a losing court battle in which he is left nearly penniless takes a job investigating a 40 year-old murder of the niece of a wealthy industrialist played by Christopher Plummer. He leaves behind the magazine and his lover and quickly becomes obsessed with the case as it morphs into conspiracy of vast proportions. All the while he works with the promise that Henrik Vanger (Plummer) has the goods on his nemesis Wennerström who had brought the lawsuit on him.
As the conspiracy widens he bring on an investigator, a rather unconventional one at that. Lisbeteh Salander, the pierced, tattooed, punk computer hacker is officially a ward of the state because she is labeled clinically insane. She is brilliant, but ultimately trapped by the system and therefore lives in the shadows of society. Her very appearance and manner make her almost invisibly to polite society which disregards her as just another troubled youth. She is able to use this to her great advantage.
Rooney Mara takes over the film at this point as the whole mood ratchets up ten notches. Her street smarts and ability to defend herself make her a worthy anti-hero as she simultaneously frees herself from her government oppressors and makes a true friend with Mikael.
I thoroughly enjoyed the film. It was easy enough to "bond" with Daniel Craig's character, but I found myself extremely sympathetic to Mara's character whom if I had met on the streets in my daily life would have repelled me.
The movie is rated R and rightly so, with some extreme violence (though not gratuitous) and some sex scenes. I can imagine sequels stemming from this as there are two more novels in the series, though this movie stands alone in it's resolution.
4 of 5 stars
CW
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