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An intense and disturbing 'Dragon Tattoo'

One of the darkest movies of the holiday season, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" opened this week. The film, which is an adaptation of a book, chronicles journalist Mikael Blomkvist as he is given the task of solving the disappearance of a young girl who went missing 40 years ago. Blomkvist, realizing that he cannot solve the murder alone, teams up with Lisbeth Salander, a mysterious bisexual computer hacker. As they dig deeper into the murder case, they discover the risk for their own lives is becoming greater.

The two hour and 40 minute movie had some suspenseful and interesting scenes, but felt mediocre overall. On the surface the plot seems rather simple, but as the movie progresses, the different storylines and character side stories become difficult to follow. At times the plot feels rushed, while at other times the sheer volume of names and random facts make the film rather boring and hard to follow.

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" also features some extremely risqué sex scenes including a rape. These scenes are extremely graphic and tough to watch. The rape scene was so heavily focused on and drawn out, it was distracting from the main plot.

Despite the film's erratic pacing, the actors perform well in their roles. Rooney Mara does an outstanding job transforming herself into Lisbeth Salander or "the girl with the dragon tattoo." From the minute she appears onscreen, she immediately draws in the audience. Her portrayal of this woman, who is on one hand incredibly intelligent and strong, but on the other hand repeatedly beaten down by society and is socially abnormal is exceptional. Mara saves the movie.

Briana Knox can be reached at briana.knox@student.shu.edu.


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