The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Book to Film

As 2011 comes to a close, we can catch another adaptation of a book for the big screen. The American adaptation of Stieg Larsson's first book in his Millennium trilogy, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, is in theaters now.

Here's the synopsis:

A spellbinding amalgam of murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial
intrigue.

It’s about the disappearance forty years ago of Harriet Vanger, a young scion of one of the wealthiest families in Sweden . . . and about her octogenarian uncle, determined to know the truth about what he believes was her murder.

It’s about Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently at the wrong end of a libel case, hired to get to the bottom of Harriet’s disappearance . . . and about Lisbeth Salander, a twenty-four-year-old pierced and tattooed genius hacker possessed of the hard-earned wisdom of someone twice her age—and a terrifying capacity for ruthlessness to go with it—who assists Blomkvist with the investigation. This unlikely team discovers a vein of nearly unfathomable iniquity running through the Vanger family, astonishing corruption in the highest echelons of Swedish industrialism—and an unexpected connection between themselves.

It’s a contagiously exciting, stunningly intelligent novel about society at its most hidden, and about the intimate lives of a brilliantly realized cast of characters, all of them forced to face the darker aspects of their world and of their own lives.

The American version is directed by David Fincher and stars Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander. This role is a big deal for Rooney. She had a couple of scenes in The Social Network, and has had other smaller roles, but this is her big break.

I was listening to an interview she did for NPR's All Things Considered in which she said she hadn't even read the books before auditioning for the part. But she goes on to say that she became obsessed with the character after reading the trilogy. She really had to put herself out there for this role. Included were the piercings and learning to ride a monster of a motorcycle. You can listen to the interview here.

Here's the movie trailer, in case you haven't seen it:

via dragontattoofilm

I haven't seen it yet, have you? How did it compare to the book? I'd love to hear your comments.

Talk to you soon,
Angela