The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Now that the Oscar's are coming at a close, several movies nominated in that prestigious Award giving body has not yet been shown here in the Philippines. One of which is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo which seemed to have gathered a lot of attention from moviegoers and critics alike. Recently opened here in our country, the movie has been released for quite sometime overseas. Here is an opener for the Oscar Season.

We may have passed a lot of times on our local bookstore and we always notice a yellow paperback in their display section with the title "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and dismiss it eventually. I, for one is guilty of such and has been ignoring such novel, diverting my attention to lighter novels instead. When news came out that there will be a movie to be made based on the novel, it sparked my interest to read the book, however, my attention was usurped by a book I have to read a long time ago. Now that the film was released, still I was not able to read the novel. 

Critics raved about the book and it is not surprising that the movie will also garner great reviews from Top critics in Hollywood and eventually be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo follows Mikael Blomkvist, portrayed by Daniel Craig, a journalist who lost a libel case against Hans-Erik Wennerstrom, putting his magazine into financial jeopardy. He was contacted then by Henrik Vanger to investigate the disappearance of his niece in exchange of information against Wennerstrom that would regain his magazine. On the other hand, Lisbeth Salander, played by Rooney Mara, was a computer hacker and at the same time works as a researcher for Milton Security has her own problems as her legal guardian suffered a stroke and her new guardian now takes control over her finances and exchanges money for sexual acts. The paths of these two individuals meet after an hour and a half of the movie. They developed a relationship as they uncover the mystery of Harriet Vanger, the lost niece of Henrik Vanger.

As I watch the movie, it reminded me on my experience as I watch Mystic River 7-8 years ago. There is a lot of things that is going on. The movie requires the moviegoer to be attentive in every detail since each has a role to play to advance the story. What made this movie to generate the interest of those who are watching is the way it was presented. The mystery surrounded in the plot will keep you guessing if Harriet is still alive or was killed. Who could be the killer? What was the cause of the disappearance of Harriet? Who kept on sending the pressed flowers to Henrik? These are just some of the questions in the movie that were addressed in the movie. 

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo not only has one mystery but has two. The character of Lisbeth is a mystery itself. All the angst and isolation that caused her to be diagnosed to have mental incompetency is an attention grabber. However, Lisbeth's character is still a puzzler since she will be explored more on the succeeding novels, and hopefully, sequels.

Daniel Craig, in his non-Bond film, is great in portraying a curious journalist hungry for information that would save his magazine. Christopher Plummer and Stellan Skarsgard proved that they are veterans in Hollywood, whether they portray the villain or the hero. Rooney Mara gives Lisbeth Salander the mysterious aura perfectly that her Oscar nomination for Best Actress is well-deserved. David Fincher, the director, provided Lisbeth's character a shell that is yet to be opened on the next feature, although, we have seen a peak at the end of the movie.

Although running for 2 hours and a half, it follows perfectly a sequence of events that would actually interest you in uncovering the truth behind the mystery. If you are the type of moviegoer who can't sit through lengthy dialogues then this is not the movie for you. For those who are interested to see this, watch it alone. Free yourself from distractions of your seatmate asking you questions about the movie. 

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo succeeds in combining a crime-thriller and perplex characters which could be a reason why it has been nominated for Best Picture as well...

GRADE: B+

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