The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: AWESOME

I had known I'd end up seeing "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" after hearing all the hype about it. I usually get dragged into these mega-franchise book series a while after they come out. The same was true for Harry Potter, Twilight (which I'm ashamed to say I was obsessed with at the time), The Hunger Games, and now the Dragon Tattoo books, otherwise known as the Millenium Trilogy. I started reading the first book before the movie came out, but I only got through the first thirty pages and decided I couldn't wait any longer: I had to see this movie.

It. Was. Amazing.

Everyone needs to see this movie. I know that it might scare some people off since it's REALLY violent and there are two explicit rape scenes in it, but you should see it anyway. Cover your eyes during the scary parts if you have to, I almost did.

And that's the thing about this movie: it's so "R" and it doesn't apologize for doing so, and it really doesn't leave much to the imagination which it makes it all the more realistic. Like, i actually believed what was going on, not that it was just Daniel Craig wearing chunky sweaters and the girl from "The Social Network" in a different costume. I could look at the movie and call the characters by their character's name, not just "the guy that Daniel Craig played" which is a pretty big deal. I got so into it that I truly believed the story. And I was rooting for them!

The story alone should get anyone engrossed in the movie. It's mainly about a forty year old murder mystery that Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig), a journalist turned invesitigator, is called into solve by industrialist Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer) after he gets defeated in court thanks to a libel scandal. Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara)--the actual girl with the dragon tattoo, an introverted but talented computer hacker and private investigator--pops in later to assist Blomkvist with his investigation. But there are all these other plotlines that intertwine such as the family history of the Vangers, Salander's personal situation, and Blomkvist's libel scandal and relationship with his ex-colleague. There was so much suspense at one point in the movie, I felt anxious for a whole twenty minutes until something was revealed. The plot always keeps you engaged, and you want to find out more.

Another great asset to this movie is Rooney Mara as Lisbeth. It may be a long shot, but I'm hoping she gets an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. I mean, to take a part like that, where the girl is very conflicted, sometimes wordless, aggressive, and only lets out emotion when she's truly vulnerable is very impressive. This character has been imagined in many people's heads for a while, and even though I hadn't read the whole book when I saw it, I could tell she was doing the role justice. Also, this actress really hasn't been in a lot of movies or has had many substantial parts, and for her to break out in a role like this is really impressive. I had no idea she could be this good. It's not like she was playing Cinderella or something, I mean, this character is sexually abused to an extreme and has this crazy mysterious past, and Mara makes it all very believeable. The scene wher she gets revenge on her abuser is the best in the whole movie, I must say; everyone in the theatre clapped and was like, "Yes!"

Now I've picked up the book again and I'm loving it. The book is as equally engaging as the movie was, though it does kind of stink to know what happens already. Whether you choose to read the book first or not before you see the movie, you won't be dissapointed.

*Side note: I also saw "The Artist" last night, which is a silent black and white film, but it was great, and I don't understand how anyone could NOT like it. So there's a second reccomendation!

(pic from http://www.onlinemovieshut.com/tag/the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-poster)