Directed by Niels Arden Oplev
Written by Nikolaj Arcel and Rasmus Heisterberg
Based on the novel by Stieg Larsson
Starring Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Peter Haber, Sven-Bertil Taube, Peter Andersson, Ingvar Hirdwall, Marika Lagercrantz
Rated R for violence, profanity, nudity, sexual scenes including some depicting rape
Rating - Golden Gun
There is a moment in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo when investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) relays some information he has uncovered to another character. Anger flashes across the character’s face. It is subtle but in that instant, I knew who the killer was. That is terrific acting. It is also the mark of an intelligent and highly absorbing thriller.
As the film opens, Blomkvist is being sentenced to a 3 month stint in jail for libel of a powerful businessman. Blomkvist realizes he has been setup, but his verdict is his fate. He has 6 months to get his affairs in order. Shortly after the trial, he is asked to visit wealthy industrialist Henrik Vanger (Sven-Bertil Taube). Henrik lives on the family estate located on a remote Swedish island with only one road connecting it to the mainland. It is a cold and desolate but beautiful place. Henrik is still grieving for the disappearance of his niece Harriet who went missing in 1966 at the age of 16. Henrik is convinced that someone in his corrupt family killed her since he continues to receive pressed flowers on his birthday, a tradition that Harriet started when she lived on the estate. He likes Blomkvist, has been following his legal woes, and offers him a large sum of money to look into Harriet’s disappearance and find out who’s responsible.
In a seemingly unrelated plotline, we meet 24 year-old punk computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace), she with the dragon tattoo. Lisbeth works for a security company acquiring data for their many clients. On her current case, she is looking into Blomkvist. From hacking into his computer, she finds no evidence that he is guilty of libel but she is intrigued by him. But Lisbeth has serious problems of her own. She has just been assigned a new financial guardian of her trust fund. This particular monster wants sexual favors from Lisbeth in exchange for money. This leads to two very uncomfortable scenes, one of which ends in a brutal rape. It is a very hard scene to watch, but it’s supposed to be. Lisbeth responds to the rape in a shocking fashion that establishes her character as a very troubled person with a murky past but someone you certainly don’t want to mess with.
Through a series of events I won’t ruin, she and Blomkvist join forces and do some detective work to figure out what happened to Harriet. And this is where the movie completely sucks you in. This is not a frenzied and chaotic murder mystery replete with chases, ridiculous leaps of logic, and last minute surprise characters who show up out of nowhere. It is a mature, measured, and thoroughly engrossing journey into a family plagued with evil, deceit, and Nazi-sympathizers. At times, the suspense makes your blood run cold.
The film is based on the first of three books by Stieg Larsson called “the Millenium trilogy”. Larsson suffered a massive heart attack at the age of 50 in 2004. When he died, his trilogy hadn’t even been published yet. After his death, he would go on to become the second best-selling author (in 2008) as a result of this trilogy. Larsson himself said that he sees the character of Lisbeth as a grown up Pippi Longstocking. Interesting since Pippi had superhuman strength and would act out against adults who were misusing or abusing their power. This film, and I assume the novel, draws heavily on themes of power and control (illustrated by the rape among other things). The tattoo is also an interesting thematic device. The very large tattoo covers Lisbeth’s entire back. She is forever marked by a significant event in her life.
The film is tough to watch at times. Aside from the rape scenes, the revelation of the killer and the killer’s motives are seriously twisted. I was struck with how much it reminded me of a David Fincher film such as Se7en. I guess that makes sense since I subsequently discovered that Fincher has signed on to direct the American remake.
But amidst all of this evil and perversion what emerges is a surprisingly tender story of loss and healing (a place that Fincher does not usually go with films of this ilk). I don’t think redemption is fully realized, but its seeds are undoubtedly planted. This is a trilogy after all. The film is not perfect. It has another one of those scenes where the killer explains his motives to give time for the cavalry to arrive. Most notably, after 2 1/2 hours (which goes by fast), too many things happen in the closing moments as if the filmmakers realized “Uh oh. We better wrap this up fast!”. That said, who knew I had to go to Sweden to see one of the best suspense thrillers in recent memory?
Add A Comment