History Film / TheGirlWithTheDragonTattoo2011

While the film was a critical hit and received five [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAward Oscar]] nominations (including a Best Actress nod for Mara and a win for Best Film Editing), it stalled at the international box office, only barely making back its $90 million dollar budget. Because of this, the continuation of a Fincher series has remained in {{development hell}} for close to a decade, and [[StillbornFranchise looks very unlikely]].

A sequel, ''Film/TheGirlInTheSpidersWeb'' (based on the fourth book in the ''Millennium'' series), was finally released in 2018. This new film is a {{soft reboot}}, [[BTeamSequel featuring none of the original cast or creative personnel]], but retaining the same continuity of its predecessor.

* CatScare: Very subtly done. Upon returning to the cottage after spending the weekend back in Stockholm, Mikael finds the stray cat he's been feeding wandering around and wonders aloud how it got into the house, seeing as he left all the doors and windows locked, thus implying that someone's been snooping around. Later, [[spoiler: when the cat is brutally killed and left outside the house, it's clearly meant as a warning to him]]

* EarlyBirdCameo: David Fincher confirmed that Creator/JoelKinnaman was meant to come back for the sequel. (His character, Christer Malm, is in the first book, but has almost no plot relevance to it and is appropriately reduced to about one line when compressing 672 pages into 153 minutes.[[note]]For context, the 600-minute-long first season of ''Series/GameOfThrones'' came from 806 pages.[[/note]]) Likewise, Bengt Carlsson (Holder Palmgren), Creator/EmbethDavidtz (Annika Blomkvist Giannini) and Creator/ElodieYung (Miriam Wu) appear in this film so that their importance in the next two isn't a case of RememberTheNewGuy.
* ExactWords: Henrik Vanger promised he could disclose Wennerström's past deeds for Mikael to publish. He kept his word, only that [[ConfessToALesserCrime everything happened decades before and can't be prosecuted due to the statute of limitations]].

* GothSpirals: This Lisbeth wears spiral earrings and jewellery all the time.

Mikael Blomkvist (Creator/DanielCraig) is a Swedish journalist investigating the disappearance of a woman from a wealthy family four decades earlier. When he recruits young hacker Lisbeth Salander (Creator/RooneyMara) to the case, things get decidedly more complicated. Creator/ChristopherPlummer, Creator/StellanSkarsgard, Creator/StevenBerkoff, Joely Richardson and Creator/RobinWright also star.

''The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo'' is a 2011 {{mystery}} {{thriller}} directed by Creator/DavidFincher, based on [[Literature/TheMillenniumTrilogy the novel of the same name]] by Stieg Larsson. An English-language adaptation of the book, it follows an earlier trilogy of Swedish films (based on ''Millennium'' series) that were released throughout 2009. Steven Zallan wrote the screenplay, Creator/TimMiller designed the opening credits and [[Music/NineInchNails Trent Reznor]] and Atticus Ross, [[Film/TheSocialNetwork returning Fincher collaborators]], handled the music.

* LockedInvestigatingName-dropped. The night of Harriet Vanger's death, the bridge connecting Hedeby Island to the mainland was completely blocked by a spectacular auto accident.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Lisbeth realizes she's fallen in love with Mikael, and decides to tell him. She buys him a beautiful leather jacket as a Christmas present, and on the way to give it to him, [[ShipSinking sees him leaving his apartment with his part-time lover Erika]]. She then tosses the present in a dumpster and rides away]]. On the other hand, [[spoiler:a horrible serial murderer and rapist has been brought to justice and a long-suffering uncle has been reunited with the niece he thought was dead for thirty years. Also, Wennerström will never be a threat to anyone else again and Lisbeth is now a multi-millionaire.]]

* LonelyAtTheTop: [[spoiler:How Lisbeth ends the film. She's brought Wennerström to justice, and has siphoned two billion euros from his accounts to essentially become the richest woman in Sweden, but the last note of her character is the heartbreak she feels from seeing Mikael back together with Erika.]]

''The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo'' is a 2011 {{thriller}} directed by Creator/DavidFincher, based on [[Literature/TheMillenniumTrilogy the novel of the same name]] by Stieg Larsson. An English-language adaptation of the book, it follows an earlier trilogy of Swedish films (based on ''Millennium'' series) that were released throughout 2009. Steven Zallan wrote the screenplay, Creator/TimMiller designed the opening credits and [[Music/NineInchNails Trent Reznor]] and Atticus Ross handled the music.

While ''The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo'' was a critical hit and received five [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAward Oscar]] nominations (including a Best Actress nod for Mara), it stalled at the international box office, only barely making back its $90 million dollar budget. Because of this, development of a sequel remained in {{development hell}} for close to a decade.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Lisbeth realizes she's fallen in love with Mikael, and decides to tell him. She buys him a beautiful leather jacket as a Christmas present, and on the way to give it to him, [[ShipSinking sees him leaving his apartment with his part-time lover Erika]]. She then tosses the present in a dumpster and rides away]]. On the other hand, [[spoiler:a horrible serial murderer and rapist has been brought to justice and a long-suffering uncle has been reunited with the niece he thought was dead for thirty years. Also, Wennerström will never be a threat to anyone else again and Lisbeth is now a multi-millionaire.]]

* KarmicDeath: Gottfried Vanger, drowned by [[spoiler: Harriet,]] the girl he'd been raping for several years. [[spoiler: Martin]] gets this in the movie, when Lisbeth walks away and leaves him to burn. This ties into his comment about how all his victims thought he would spare them, only to have their hopes brutally crushed. In short, he's denied the same mercy he denied his victims.

* MayDecemberRomance: Mikael and Lisbeth's short-lived relationship.

* PayEvilUntoEvil: Lisbeth's treatment of [[spoiler:Bjurman is so harsh that it borders on MoralEventHorizon.]] But it was so precise and ingenious that it could qualify as a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome: [[spoiler:rather than killing the man, Lisbeth opted to make Bjurman suffer the ''exact same abuse'' he put her through, up to every little detail, including the rape and the blackmail, just to make him realize how it felt. However, leaving Bjurman alive left him free to make new plans against her,]] which might have ended very badly.

** The film features the characters' [[UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh MacBooks]] quite prominently -- though really it would feature whichever brand of computer they used prominently given the nature of the story. [=Mc=]Donald's is also plainly visible.

** Lisbeth enjoys chowing down on [[UsefulNotes/McDonalds Happy Meals]], even while staying at a posh luxury hotel.

* SoundtrackDissonance: In-universe, as [[spoiler: Martin]] likes putting on Music/{{Enya}} during his murders on ''Daniel Craig''s suggestion.

* EarlyBirdCameo: David Fincher confirmed that Creator/JoelKinnaman was meant to come back for the sequel. (His character, Christer Malm, is in the first book, but has almost no plot relevance to it and is appropriately reduced to about one line when compressing 800 pages into 153 minutes.[[note]]For context, the same number of pages became the ''entire first season'' of ''Series/GameOfThrones.''[[/note]]) Likewise, Bengt Carlsson (Holder Palmgren), Creator/EmbethDavidtz (Annika Blomkvist Giannini) and Creator/ElodieYung (Miriam Wu) appear in this film so that their importance in the next two isn't a case of RememberTheNewGuy.

* EarlyBirdCameo: David Fincher confirmed that Creator/JoelKinnaman was meant to come back for the sequel, which didn't happen.

* LockedRoomMystery: name-dropped. The night of Harriet Vanger's death, the bridge connecting Hedeby Island to the mainland was completely blocked by a spectacular auto accident.

* MinorCrimeRevealsMajorPlot: [[spoiler: Investigating disappearance of one rich heiress -> Family of serial killers]]

** Features the characters' [[UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh MacBooks]] quite prominently -- though really it would feature whichever brand of computer they used prominently given the nature of the story. [=Mc=]Donald's is also plainly visible.

* RapeAndRevenge: Lisbeth's advocate Nils Bjurman lures her to his apartment, [[spoiler: where he sodomizes her with a sex toy, rapes and tortures her]], then orders her to come back a week later. She does so, but [[spoiler: stunguns, ties up and sodomizes ''him'', then tattoos "I am a sadistic pig, a pervert, and a rapist" on his chest and stomach]]. She also tells him that [[spoiler: she recorded his assault of her, and that]] he will be doing exactly what she says from now on, or he'll be going to jail for a very long time.
* RapeAsDrama: Happens to both [[spoiler: Harriet Vanger and Lisbeth]].

* SofterAndSlowerCover: Would probably not apply in most other contexts, but Karen O's version of "Immigrant Song" over the opening credits ''is'' slower and softer than Led Zeppelin's original.
* SoundtrackDissonance: In-universe, as [[spoiler: Martin]] likes putting on Music/{{Enya}} during his murders on ''Daniel Craig'''s suggestion.

* FriendlyEnemies: like every good murder-mystery villain, the BigBad comes across as affable by helping Mikael hunt down Harriet's killer. This is because, though the character ''is'' the BigBad, they didn't kill ''Harriet'', and are genuinely hoping Blomkvist can figure out what happened to her. Only when it becomes clear that Mikael has 1) not cracked her murder and 2) ''has'' cracked the ''villain''[='s=] murders that the villain decides to off our hero.

* DepravedBisexual: Two interesting examples. Lisbeth is only shown sleeping with a woman, presumably Miriam Wu, after being raped by Bjurman, while their relationship continues for longer in the book. [[spoiler:This film retains the book's plot point that Martin planned to rape Mikael after abducting him, though he admits it's not his usual type.]]

** In both other mediums, Lisbeth leaves Mikael and Sweden on good terms, only after realising that she is in love with Mikael (and, in at least one example, because he's in prison). In this film, she is about to give him an elaborate Christmas present when she sees him with Erica, which leads to her believing he devalued their relationship and doesn't care about her. She takes off devastated.

* CastingGag: Creator/DavidFincher cast Creator/DanielCraig (perhaps best known for being Film/JamesBond at that point) as Mikael. The gag would have paid off in the third film, when Mikael spends the entire novel playing spy games vs. "The Section."

* CatScare: Very subtly done. Upon returning to the cottage after spending the weekend back in Stockholm, Mikael finds the stray cat he's been feeding wandering around and wonders aloud how it got into the house, seeing as he left all the doors and windows locked, thus implying that someone's been snooping around. Later, [[spoiler: when the cat is brutally murdered and left outside the house, it's clearly meant as a warning to him]]

* AdaptationalAngstUpgrade: In both other mediums, Lisbeth leaves Mikael and Sweden on good terms, only after realising that she is in love with Mikael (and, in at least one example, because he's in prison). In this film, she is about to give him an elaborate Christmas present when she sees him with Erica, which leads to her believing he devalued their relationship and doesn't care about her. She takes off devastated.

* AdaptationalDyeJob: Follows the Swedish films as Harriet has blonde hair, which she never dyes. Harriet of the book had dark hair that she dyed blonde.
* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: Creator/JoelKinnaman has a cameo that was supposed to be this for ''The Girl who played with Fire'', but it never came about.
* AdaptationExplanationExtrication: Lisbeth's hostility towards [[spoiler:Harriet]] is not explained in this film, nor is her motivation for setting her father on fire. That was probably a SequelHook for ''The Girl who played with fire'', which didn't happen.

* DepravedBisexual: Two interesting examples. Lisbeth is only shown sleeping with a woman, presumably Miriam Wu, after being raped by Bjurman, while their relationship continues for longer in the book. [[spoiler:This film retains the book's plot point that Martin planned to rape Mikael after abducting him, though he admits it's not his usual type.]]

''The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo'' is a 2011 {{thriller}} directed by Creator/DavidFincher, based on [[Literature/TheMillenniumTrilogy the novel of the same name]] by Stieg Larsson. An English-language adaptation of the book, it follows an earlier trilogy of Swedish films (based on ''Millennium'' series) that were released throughout 2009.

* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: Creator/JoelKinnaman has a cameo that was supposed to be this for ''Book/TheGirlWhoPlayedWithFire'', but it never came about.
* AdaptationExplanationExtrication: Lisbeth's hostility towards [[spoiler:Harriet]] is not explained in this film, nor is her motivation for setting her father on fire. (That was probably SequelBait for "The Girl That Played With Fire", which didn't happen.)

* CompositeCharacter: Interestingly intentional and plot-relevant case. When we meet Harriet's cousin Anita in London, it's not much of a surprise, as that's where she lives in the book, too, before it's revealed that [[spoiler:she's covering for Harriet, who is living out in Australia]]]]. Then it's revealed that not only did [[spoiler:Harriet assume Anita's identity but, as in the Swedish film, Anita has actually died beforehand. Fincher melded the position of book-Anita with that of the Swedish film's Harriet in his Harriet.]]

* BlindingCameraFlash: Several in the flashbacks.

* RapeLeadsToInsanity: Although Lisbeth does respond aggressively to be raped, this trope is most evident in this film for [[spoiler:Martin, as the script maintains that he was also raped by his father, which leads him to being unsure about raping Mikael in the basement.]]

** Interesting example. [[spoiler:Harriet]] manages to EarnHerHappyEnding in the book and film, as she has a family. In this film, she has no-one and seems extremely isolated and unhappy.

* SpotlightStealingSquad: Unlike the Swedish films, this one jeeps its two protagonists on a more equal footing.

A sequel, ''Film/TheGirlInTheSpidersWeb'' (based on the fourth book in the ''Millennium'' series), was finally released in 2018. This new film is a {{soft reboot}}, featuring none of the original cast or creative personnel, but retaining the same continuity of its predecessor. Creator/ClaireFoy (''Series/{{The Crown|2016}}'') replaces Mara as Salander, while Sverrir Gudnason replaces Craig as Blomkvist, and Fede Álvarez (''Film/{{Evil Dead|2013}}'', ''Film/DontBreathe'') replaces Fincher as director.

Mikael Blomkvist (Creator/DanielCraig) is a Swedish journalist investigating the disappearance of a woman from a wealthy family four decades earlier. When he recruits young hacker Lisbeth Salander (Creator/RooneyMara) to the case, things get decidedly more complicated. Creator/ChristopherPlummer, Creator/StellanSkarsgard, Creator/StevenBerkoff, and Creator/RobinWright also star.

* CastingGag: For the American adaptation, Creator/DavidFincher cast Creator/DanielCraig (perhaps best known for being Film/JamesBond at that point) as Mikael. The gag would have paid off in the third film, when Mikael spends the entire novel playing spy games vs. "The Section."

* DesignStudentsOrgasm: The U.S. film's opening credits. So, so much.
* EyeScream: The opening credits of the American film include a lit match falling onto Daniel Craig's eye, and later a fly hatching out of it.
* InJoke: In the American version of the film, all the characters say Lisbeth's name with English pronunciation, "Liz-bith" or "Liz-beth". But toward the end of the movie when Martin learns her name, he says it with Swedish pronunciation as "Leez-bet," which makes sense seeing as Martin is played by Stellan Skarsgård, the only actual Swede to have a major role in the movie.

* PragmaticAdaptation: The American film is a much stronger example of this than the Swedish one, retaining much more of the novel's depth and detail while running only six minutes longer than the latter. Notably included in this version but cut from the previous one are the bulk of the Wennerström subplot, Blomkvist's daughter, the original Vanger family configuration, and a fair amount of screen time for Erika Berger. Anita's still dead though.

** The American version features the characters' [[UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh MacBooks]] quite prominently -- though really it would feature whichever brand of computer they used prominently given the nature of the story. [=Mc=]Donald's is also plainly visible.
*** All versions, including the novels, are [[EveryoneOwnsAMac very specific about Macs.]]
** For the nerdier types, the actual placement of Macs in the Fincher film is rather strange. The exact timeline of the film isn't clear, but it's either a present-day OS (Tiger, circa 2005) running on computers from the future (the unibody [=Mac=]Book Pros from 2008, which came with Leopard), or computers of today running an OS from several years before they came out.
** In the American version Lisbeth enjoys chowing down on Happy Meals, even while staying at a posh luxury hotel.
* SoundtrackDissonance: In-universe in the American film, as [[spoiler: Martin]] likes putting on Music/{{Enya}} during his murders on ''Daniel Craig'''s suggestion.

* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrFgnizJ7qY second trailer]] for the US film is a loose summary of the ''entire story'' with the exception of the two ''really'' big plot twists ([[spoiler: Martin]] and [[spoiler: Harriet.]])

A sequel, ''The Girl in the Spider's Web'' (based on the fourth book in the ''Millennium'' series), was finally released in 2018. This new film is a {{soft reboot}}, featuring none of the original cast or creative personnel, but retaining the same continuity of its predecessor. Creator/ClaireFoy (''Series/{{The Crown|2016}}'') replaces Mara as Salander, while Sverrir Gudnason replaces Craig as Blomkvist, and Fede Álvarez (''Film/{{Evil Dead|2013}}'', ''Film/DontBreathe'') replaces Fincher as director.