The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Girl Delivers Strength Perseverance Toughness and Solid Acting
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, R, *****Plus, Rooney Mara, Daniel Craig, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgard, Robin Wright. Columbia Pictures. Director David Fincher. Length 158 minutes.

Based on Stieg Larsson’s book by the same name, this film keeps the audience hanging on every word and each scene throughout this mystery and tense plot. It is 158 minutes in length, but it is worth every second.
This is the first of a trilogy based on the same characters. Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) is a computer genius, a geek, and an individual with plenty of idiosyncrasies. Her fast keyboard skills along with her impatience reveal itself with subtle strength.
Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) is a disgraced journalist who works at the Millennium - a magazine published in Sweden. The story follows Salander and Blomkvist as they pursue their perspective careers. It continues in a revenge binge as Salander attempts to convince a lawyer that she should no longer be a ward of the state. Blomkvist takes a job working for Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer) trying to solve a murder that happened forty years ago. Blomkvist realizes he needs the expertise of Salander to help him with the murder mystery. Again, Salander is very eccentric, gothic, and reclusive. However, she is extremely smart at what she does. Unfortunately, her social skills need to be honed.
The audience learns why she has become the way she is today. It is a sad story that helps the audience to delve into her past and her mind in order to sympathize with her. We all know individuals who are different as a result of their history. Salander must live in a world that has mistreated her for years. The viewers learn more as the film progresses.
We follow Blomkvist and Salander as their stories develop. Watching the two individuals live their lives and reveal their secrets adds depth to the plot. It is apparent these two individuals need each other to solve a murder and or a mystery.
As the plot progresses between Blomkvist and Salander, the suspense and intensity surges giving the audience entertainment as the pieces of the puzzle begin to unite.
The two hook up in order to help solve the murder. Meeting the family of Vanger, the audience will believe it could be anyone in the family responsible for the murder. The entire family is very unconventional. The person missing for forty years is Harriet - the niece of Henrik Vanger. She was his favorite niece. The entire family lives on an island, and they never found a trace of Harriet after she became missing.
Believe me when I say, Blomkvist and Salander have their hands full trying to uncover the clues and solve the case. Of course, Salander has enough personal problems to keep her busy. She spends most of her time online, hacking accounts, and looking very unhappy. The eye contact and looks she gives others says a lot about her and how she copes with life. Actually, she gives a performance worthy of an Oscar nod.
Craig does not play the tough character in this one. However, he is intelligent and definitely uses his cleverness as the film progresses. His low profile and her confidence and intelligence supply just the right charisma for both of them.
If one has read the book, the graphic violence, nudity, torture, and all the items that fall into an R rated movie can be expected. If the reader has not read the book, I am posting the above information FYI.