Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) is an investigative journalist who has been convicted of libeling an unethical businessman. In the transition time before he goes to prison, he takes a job offered by the wealthy and powerful Henrik Vanger (Sven-Bertil Taube), the head of a family-run industrial empire in Sweden. This patriarch is still troubled by the mysterious disappearance of his great-niece Harriet 40 years ago. In order to check up on Blomkvist, Vanger has hired Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace), a top-notch computer hacker with a shaved head, nose rings, and a dragon tattoo etched on her back. She is pestered by a dark past and seems to have a knack for getting in trouble. When the lawyer appointed to serve as her guardian rapes her, Lisbeth's revenge is swift and telling.
Blomkvist begins a long and intense investigation into Harriet's disappearance which involves sorting through many papers, files, photographs, and other materials. Eventually, he convinces the independent and free-spirited Lisbeth to lend her computer skills to the detail-oriented investigation. They follow many different leads down false trails. In the process, they are bonded together and have sex. The secrets they uncover within the Vanger clan are not pretty; they speak volumes about the corruption, bigotry, and unethical behavior in the highest echelons of Swedish society.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is the first in a series of three films based on the bestselling Millennium crime novels by the late Stieg Larsson. Director Niel Arden Oplev has crafted a mesmerizing drama with two fascinating sleuths and a mystery that keeps on getting deeper and darker. The impressive performances of Michael Nyqvist and Noomi Rapace are what make this gripping crime tale so scary.
