The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Journalist Mikael Blomkvist, co-owner of the magazine Millennium, loses a high-profile libel case against billionaire Hans-Erik Wennerström, resulting in a looming prison sentence. Meanwhile, Lisbeth Salander, a brilliant but troubled hacker, is commissioned to run a background check on Blomkvist. Henrik Vanger, the elderly patriarch of the affluent Vanger family, hires Blomkvist to investigate the disappearance of his niece, Harriet, who had vanished in 1966 during a family gathering. Henrik suspects foul play by his family, many of whom had Nazi connections. Salander struggles under the control of her abusive guardian, Nils Bjurman. After enduring severe abuse, including rape, she gains the upper hand by blackmailing Bjurman, securing her financial independence and personal safety. Blomkvist, living on the Vanger estate, discovers a list of names and numbers in Harriet's diary, linked to biblical verses. Salander, secretly accessing Blomkvist’s files, identifies the biblical references and joins Blomkvist, proposing they might relate to a series of unsolved murders connected to antisemitic motives within the Vanger family. Their investigation leads them to suspect Martin, Harriet’s brother, who eventually captures Blomkvist. In Martin's custody, Blomkvist learns of the serial murders conducted by Martin and his late father. Salander arrives in time to rescue Blomkvist, and Martin dies in a subsequent car crash. The duo discover that Harriet is alive in Australia, having escaped to avoid further abuse. Reunited with Henrik, she explains that she sent him annual pressed flowers as a signal that she was still alive. The film closes as Blomkvist, aided by Salander, publishes an exposé on Wennerström, which revitalises his career and leads to Wennerström’s downfall. Salander, having secretly transferred Wennerström's funds, begins a new life under a new identity.