Daniel Craig in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
In Stockholm, Sweden, journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig), co-owner of Millennium magazine, has just lost a libel case brought against him by corrupt businessman Hans-Erik Wennerström (Ulf Friberg). Meanwhile, Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara), a brilliant but troubled researcher and hacker, compiles an extensive background check on Blomkvist for business magnate Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer), who has a special task for him. In exchange for the promise of damning information about Wennerström, Blomkvist agrees to investigate the disappearance and assumed murder of Henrik’s grandniece, Harriet, 40 years before. After moving to the Vanger family’s compound, Blomkvist uncovers a notebook containing a list of names and numbers that no one has been able to decipher.
Salander, who is under state legal guardianship due to diagnosed mental incompetency, is appointed a new guardian, lawyer Nils Bjurman (Yorick van Wageningen), after her previous guardian has a stroke. Bjurman abuses his authority to extort sexual favors from Salander and then violently rapes her, not realizing she has a hidden video camera in her bag. At their next meeting, she stuns him with a Taser, rapes him with a dildo, and marks him as a rapist with a tattoo on his chest and stomach. She then blackmails him into writing her a glowing progress report and giving her full control of her money.
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Blomkvist’s daughter visits him and notes that the numbers from the notebook are Bible references. Blomkvist tells Vanger’s lawyer Dirch Frode (Steven Berkoff) that he needs help with his research, and Frode recommends Salander based on the work she did researching Blomkvist himself. Blomkvist hires Salander to further investigate the notebook’s content. She uncovers a connection to a series of murders of young women that occurred from 1947 through 1967, with the women either being Jewish or having Biblical names; many of the Vangers are known antisemites. During the investigation, Salander and Blomkvist become lovers. Henrik’s brother Harald (Per Myrberg) identifies Martin (Stellan Skarsgård), Harriet’s brother and operational head of the Vanger empire, as a possible suspect. Salander’s research uncovers evidence that Martin and his deceased father, Gottfried, had committed the murders.Blomkvist breaks into Martin’s house to look for more clues, but Martin catches him and prepares to kill him. Martin brags about having killed women for decades, but denies killing Harriet. Salander arrives, subdues Martin and saves Blomkvist. While Salander tends to Blomkvist, Martin flees. Salander, on her motorcycle, pursues Martin in his SUV. He loses control of his vehicle on an icy road and dies when it catches fire.
Salander nurses Blomkvist back to health, and tells him that she tried to kill her father when she was 12. After recovering, Blomkvist deduces that Harriet is still alive and her cousin Anita (Joely Richardson) likely knows where she is. He and Salander monitor Anita, waiting for her to contact Harriet. When nothing happens, Blomkvist confronts her, correctly deducing that Anita is Harriet herself. She explains that her father and brother had sexually abused her for years, and that Martin saw her kill their father in self-defense. Her cousin Anita smuggled her out of the island and let her live under her identity. Finally free of her brother, she returns to Sweden and tearfully reunites with Henrik.As promised, Henrik gives Blomkvist the information on Wennerström, but it proves to be worthless. Salander hacks into Wennerström’s computer and presents Blomkvist with damning evidence of Wennerström’s crimes. Blomkvist publishes an article which ruins Wennerström, who flees the country. Salander hacks into Wennerström’s bank accounts and, travelling to Switzerland in disguise, transfers two billion euros to various accounts. Wennerström is soon found murdered. Salander reveals to her former guardian that she is in love with Blomkvist. On her way to give Blomkvist a Christmas present, however, Salander sees him and his longtime lover and business partner Erika Berger (Robin Wright) walking together happily. Heartbroken, she discards the gift and rides away.
Fincher and Zaillian’s central objective was to maintain the novel’s setting. To portray Larsson’s vision of Sweden, and the interaction of light on its landscape, Fincher cooperated with an artistic team that included cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth and production designer Donald Graham Burt. The film was wholly shot using Red Digital Cinema Camera Company’s RED MX digital camera, chosen to help evoke Larsson’s tone. The idea, according to Cronenweth, was to employ unorthodox light sources and maintain a realistic perspective. “So there may be shadows, there may be flaws, but it’s reality. You allow silhouettes and darkness, but at the same time we also wanted shots to counter that, so it would not all be one continuous dramatic image.” Sweden’s climate was a crucial element in enhancing the mood. Cronenweth commented, “It’s always an element in the background and it was very important that you feel it as an audience member. The winter becomes like a silent character in the film giving everything a low, cool-colored light that is super soft and non-direct.” To get acquainted with Swedish culture, Burt set out on a month-long expedition across the country. He said of the process, “It takes time to start really taking in the nuances of a culture, to start seeing the themes that recur in the architecture, the landscape, the layouts of the cities and the habits of the people. I felt I had to really integrate myself into this world to develop a true sense of place for the film. It was not just about understanding the physicality of the locations, but the metaphysics of them, and how the way people live comes out through design.” Principal photography began in Stockholm, Sweden in September 2010. Production mostly took place at multiple locations in the city’s central business district, including at the Stockholm Court House. One challenge was realizing the Vanger estate. They picked an eighteenth century French architecture mansion Hofsta located approximately 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Stockholm. Filmmakers wanted to use a typical “manor from Småland” that was solemn, formal, and “very Old Money”. “The Swedish are very good at the modern and the minimal but they also have these wonderful country homes that can be juxtaposed against the modern city—yet both speak to money.” Principal photography relocated in October to Uppsala. On Queen Street, the facade of the area was renovated to mimic the Hotel Alder, after an old photograph of a building obtained by Fincher. From December onward, production moved to Zurich, Switzerland, where locations were established at Dolder Grand Hotel and the Zurich Airport. Because of the “beautiful” environment of the city, Fincher found it difficult to film in the area. Principal photography concluded in Oslo, Norway, where production took place at the Oslo Airport, Gardermoen. Recorded for over fifteen hours, twelve extras were sought for background roles. In one sequence the character Martin Vanger plays the song “Orinoco Flow” by Enya before beginning his torture of Mikael Blomkvist. David Fincher, the director, said that he believed that Martin “doesn’t like to kill, he doesn’t like to hear the screams, without hearing his favorite music” so therefore the character should play a song during the scene. Daniel Craig, the actor who played Blomkvist, selected “Orinoco Flow” on his iPod as a candidate song. Fincher said “And we all almost pissed ourselves, we were laughing so hard. No, actually, it’s worse than that. He said, ‘Orinoco Flow!’ Everybody looked at each other, like, what is he talking about? And he said, ‘You know, “Sail away, sail away…”’ And I thought, this guy is going to make Blomkvist as metro as we need.”
