There's a moment in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (TGWTDT) where hacker Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) seems to ask disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) for permission to commit murder. That simple phrase sums up the perfect synchronicity of David Fincher's direction, Steven Zaillian's screenplay, and Trent Reznor's score. What kind of a woman asks for permission to kill?
By now the plot of TGWTDT is well-known: When Blomkvsit, co-owner of Millennium magazine loses his libel case against corrupt CEO Hans-Erik Wennerstrom (Ulf Friberg), he is given an opportunity at redemption and revenge by Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer). It's a good old fashioned murder mystery; Vanger is obsessed with solving the murder of his grandniece Harriet (Moa Garpendal). And so, slinking out of the public eye, Blomkvist takes the job and moves onto the family's private island.
Running parallel to Blomkvist's investigation is the tale of Salander. She is a product of the Swedish system, a ward of the state and abused product of the foster system. It doesn't take long before it becomes clear that Lisbeth is as much a ward as a victim; disaffected, detached, practical, and yes violent, she does what any man would do when facing abuse - she punches it in the face. But because Lisbeth is a thin, pale girl with piercings all over her body, she is demonized and ostracized. Lisbeth's greatest nemesis is Nils Bjurman (Yorick van Wageningen), a corpulent, corrupt lawyer who manipulates Lisbeth into performing certain favors on him. And if you know Lisbeth you know this won't end well.
Eventually these two plotlines converge. Lisbeth provides much needed technical wizardry to Blomkvist's old school investigation. They are united by the opportunity to stop a "killer of women," a foe Lisbeth can certainly relate to.
The crux of TGWTDT is the story of Lisbeth, of Harriet, of all the women who are routinely intimidated and subjugated by men who wield their power without restraint. Their victims are merely foils, projections for each man's sins, and Lisbeth can't resist the opportunity to help a ghost from 40 years past get redemption.
But back to that question. It means so many things. On one level, Lisbeth is still asking permission from men. On the other, she doesn't need to ask anyone for permission for anything. Lisbeth is certainly the most dangerous predator in the entire film. So why did she ask Blomkvist the question?
I like to think it was a sign of affection, in the way a lover might ask, "Can I get you something to drink?" Or maybe it's a turn-taking request: "Were you planning on torturing him?" in the same way you might ask "Would you like to go first?" Mara's nuanced performance makes all the difference, and the fact that simple phrase can cause so much controversy is just one example of why The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is an excellent film.
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