This article contains spoilers; if you haven’t seen the movie or read the book yet, the spoilers should not emotionally traumatize you. When I went to see “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” last month, I had no idea what to expect. I had seen no trailer, and I had been meaning to read the book for some time but never actually read it. Once I settled into my seat, snacks galore in my lap, my friends who made the movie plans informed me the movie was over two and a half hours long. I was definitely not expecting that and would have brought Taco Bell to tide me over; I also would have seen an earlier screening instead of the 9:40 p.m. show we saw. (Hey, I had work the next morning.) Little did I know, I was about to ride a murder mystery roller coaster, suspense after every turn.
The movie starts out pretty slowly, bouncing back and forth between two characters, Mikael and Lisbeth, who have seemingly little to do with each other. Mikael is a private investigator of sorts, as is Lisbeth. But Mikael is a middle-aged, middle-class man, and Lisbeth is a ward of the state. Lisbeth is also extremely unconventional, sporting short, spiked hair, bleached eyebrows and several piercings. Eventually, you discover they are going to work together to solve a disappearance that took place in the 1960s. They research on a creepy island, meet a lot of potential suspects and ultimately solve the case.
The plot of the movie is interesting enough, but the real standout is Rooney Mara’s portrayal of Lisbeth Salander. She completely changed her appearance and immersed herself in the character. Her voice, nonverbal communications and physical movement collaborated to create a well-rounded, well-developed character with whom viewers could completely relate, even though most viewers probably had nothing at all  in common with Lisbeth. Mara’s standout performance made the film the success that it is, and it would have been a completely different movie with another actress.
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” was one of the most impressive films of 2011. We can only hope the other two books of the trilogy are made into films, if only to see another of Rooney Mara’s radiant performances.