by Lorie Lewis Ham
Special coupon for Dinuba Platinum Theatre at the end of this review.
Being one of the few people on the planet who has not read the book, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, I can’t attest to the movie version’s accurateness to the book so I can only base this review on the movie itself—which was intense and very well done.
The plot of Dragon Tattoo is one of the most complicated mystery/suspense plots I’ve seen on the big screen in some time so it’s hard to get too much into it here but here is the basic idea. The movie takes place in Sweden where Journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig), after being humiliated and his career ruined by a local criminal who set him up to print something he couldn’t prove, is approached by wealthy Swedish businessman Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer) to find out why his niece Harriet went missing forty years ago. For various reasons Mikael takes on the task and heads out to the island where the family lives. 
At the same time this is happening, we also get a glimpse into the life of Lisbeth Salandar (Rooney Mara) who is a talented investigator for a company who investigates Mikael for Henrik before he hires him. Lisbeth is The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. She is unconventional to put it mildly, wild, tough, incredibly intelligent and not afraid of breaking the law to get her job done. She is also a tortured soul who has had a horrible life. At 23, Lisbeth is a ward of the state because they have deemed her mentally incompetent. She is forced into a horrible situation with the person in charge of her money, just to be able to survive. The two lives come together when Mikael enlists her help in finding out what happened to Harriet.
This movie is incredibly intense and extremely well acted and written. This is Rooney Mara’s first movie role and she deserves an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of this complicated character. Daniel Craig is awesome as always. The twists and turns of the plot make me want to pick up the books because they are very clever and I wasn’t prepared for the final twist in the end. The relationship between Lisbeth and Mikael is also interesting and complicated and there’s some definite chemistry despite the age
difference.
I do have to warn you about some scenes—this movie is rated R for a reason. There is a very graphic rape scene and vengeance scene. I will say Lisbeth’s acting in these scenes is definitely Oscar worthy and intense, but if this would bother you, you may want to skip this movie, or cover your eyes. There is some language and nudity as well—especially in the above-mentioned scenes.
If you can handle the above mentioned scenes and you love suspense, a great mystery plot and great acting this is a must see movie.
Check out our review of the book here!
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is now playing at Dinuba Platinum Theatres 6. Showtimes can be found on their website.
Print this coupon and enjoy a special discount for Kings River Life readers only!
0 Comments