"That poor girl"

I feel so bad for Lisbeth Salandar, the heroine of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Yes, it's a brutal movie and an exceptionally well-crafted thriller. But I spent much of the movie thinking, "That poor girl." And not Harriet, the girl whose disappearance is the catalyst for the action. Lisbeth. The hacker, the human weapon, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I was unprepared for how much I would care for her. Especially since she so clearly wants to no sympathy or understanding.

There is a moment when she is playing chess and says, with quiet pride, "I have made a friend." I almost cried.

I'm not eager to pick up the trilogy that gave Lisbeth life. The violence is too much for me. At times I viewing this movie felt like an ordeal and I don't imagine that I'd be any more comfortable with the subject matter on the page.

But I appreciated the movie on its own terms. And I don't know if it was the screenplay, Rooney Mara's performance, or the way Daniel Craig responded to her, but the character of Lisbeth Salander touched me.

BTW, I really cannot stand Robin Wright. I don't know why. She's very pretty and is aging gracefully. There's just a soullessness about her that gets on my nerves. Even when she was Princess Buttercup. Oh well, her role in this movie isn't that big and she does no real damage. I just wonder what it is about her that annoys me so.