The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Also available, see review page on the remake of this film: “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara.

There’s a solid mystery thriller element surrounding “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”, the first chapter based on a trilogy of books written by Steig Larsson and released posthumously after his death in 2004 (it has been revealed that he had plot outlines written for ten books). The main heroine of the film, Lisabeth Salinger (Noomi Rapace), is more complex than one might seem: she is a 24-year old goth girl who has been both misunderstood and misinterpreted by the community, despite being one of the most brilliant computer hackers and having a superior photogenic memory. She is able to hold down a job, which might’ve been where the computer hacking came into play, as she was investigating once-respected reporter Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist). He has six months of freedom before beginning a jailed sentence on a bogus charge, he is asked to investigate a 40-year old case by elderly reclusive billionaire Henrik Vanger (Sven-Bertil Taube). His niece Harriet disappeared without a trace, and suspects someone within his family is covering up the crime.

After hacking on to his computer and discovering what Blomkvist’s latest assignment is, Lisabeth uncovers a piece of the puzzle that he finds completely baffling. Blomkvist then arrives at her apartment and offers her help on the investigation. She takes it, and proves to be a worthy ally to the forty-something investigative journalist. And in the end, it quickly becomes a dual mystery thriller: solving the murder and finding out more about Lisabeth’s mysterious background.

All three chapters were filmed back-to-back in Sweden and were all released within a year of each other, so eventually all three were acquired by American independent film company Music Box who are doing the same thing; the second chapter gets released this Friday and the third chapter on October 15. Still, it is a great start for a film trilogy that, despite some confusion in the first chapter (due to the movie’s length and some strong subject matter), makes someone want to continue watching the series to learn more. It is a movie that focuses more about its characters than the action that happens around them, which is refreshing from the usual American Hollywood-fare.

The Swedish film has English subtitles. It has been confirmed that an American remake is in the works for a 2012 release starring Daniel Craig and possibly Carey Mulligan, with distribution by Columbia Pictures (a Sony company). I don’t know if the director they’ve chosen, David Fincher, is going to have the slick direction or the brilliant cinematography, or the great acting that the Swedish film possesses. You might already guess that it might not turn out so well, as 99.7% of the remakes are not.

Violence: Extreme / Profanity: Extreme / Sex/Nudity: Extreme

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