I can’t really say why we chose to see “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” – other than it was very cold and windy in South Florida today – nor can I give you a recommendation to see it or not. I’ll do my best to describe the experience, sound some warning and from there on its up to you.

Here are a few words that could all be used to describe this film: Mystery – Dark – Extremely Sexual – Graphic – Sadistic – Suspenseful – Prejudice – Hopeful – Revenge – Surprises – Disappointments – Strong R.

On the way out the door Marty said she liked the film for it’s excellent acting, suspense and various themes and plot twists. She said she has never seen so much graphic sex and wondered how it could only be R rated. I think it got an R and not an X because the sexual scenes were either from the waist up or were cleverly hidden and left to your imagination.

As for me it was a complex movie to watch and it kept my attention – even in the slow mid section. I can’t say that I “enjoyed it.” In fact I feel that if anyone “enjoys” this movie they are only watching it casually. The dark, sadistic and disappointing moments outnumber the hopeful ones by a wide margin. The one constant with this film is suspense and change – most of which I did not see coming. I won’t spoil anything for you if you plan to see it – but I will say it had more highs and lows than any film I may have seen. The plot twists were like a drive down Lombard Avenue in San Francisco. If you don’t watch the trailer and you see the ending coming I’ll give you five bucks. I thought the movie was over twice and it still had one more emotional moment to go.

I will say affirmatively that the Female Lead – Rooney Mara absolutely deserves an Oscar. I would bet she is a lock for a Golden Globe. She attacked this role with incredible energy. If her name(s) seem familiar to you its because she is the great grand daughter of two NFL franchises: The Rooney’s who own the Steelers and the Mara’s who own the Giants. If you see the film I encourage you to check out her website. I could not believe the young woman in the “real world” was the same as “Lisbeth” in the film. Daniel Craig did a good job with his role playing the central character off of which Rooney Mara shines.

Uncle Larry