The "Who Done It?" of the Year

Rating: 9/10 (17 October 2012)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a 2011 mystery/thriller based off of the book by the late Swedish author Stieg Larsson. The plot takes place in Sweden, where big shot journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Crieg) finds his money, job, and, most importantly, his credibility gone after being sued by the international company Wennerstrom. Soon after, out of nowhere, Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer), the retired CEO of the Vanger Corporation, calls and offers Mikael a job. When they meet, Henrik asks him not only to write his memoir, but also to investigate what happened to his long missing niece, Harriet.
After Mikael arrives on Hedeby Island, he soon learns the dark secrets of the Vanger family, and the long line of hatred among family members. Soon after, Lisbeth Slander (Rooney Mara), a surveillance expert and computer genius with a very troubled past, is hired to help. Together, Blomkvist and Slander work hand in hand to solve the mystery of what happened to Harriet Vanger almost forty years earlier. In the end, the surprise is bigger than any of them could have ever imagined. The award winning music in the movie has a big part in setting the events about to happen, and stressing those events. The sound crew in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo did a great job of making the music realistic, or how it subtly flows between actions. Yet in some areas, such as the opening, it seems too loud and vulgar to go with the quiet settings of the upcoming events.
This movie, directed by David Fincher, gives us a deep look into the lives of two very different people, Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Slander. However, for those looking for the perfect "book-to-movie" handover; we're going to have to keep looking. Although the main plot stays close to the book, the ending starts to drift to far from Larsson's writing for my liking. Also, Lisbeth is given a slightly more innocent, emotional attitude, rather than the "rough tough" attitude she is given in the book. Overall, it's a great thriller by a great author and great director.