The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2009)
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (SWE) Directed by Niels Arden Oplev Written by Nikolaj Arcel; Rasmus Heisterberg Starring Michael Nykvist; Noomi Rapace; Sven-Bertil Taube; Peter Andersson; Lena Endre; Peter Haber; Marika Lagercrantz; Bjorn Granath; Ingvar Hirdwall
The late Stieg Larsson’s posthumous best selling three novel Millennium series has been turned into three separate films that will be released in succession (the sequel, The Girl Who Played With Fire, is currently in American theaters). The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is based on the first novel, but borrows from the second as well. Unfortunately, due to their explicit revealing of the childhood history motivating female lead Lisbeth Salander’s (a scintillating Noomi Rapace) behavior, these scenes stand out as being among the film’s weakest because they remove some of the mystery that makes the rest of the story so good. Compelling while evolving methotically, the film has the feel of some excellent modern British mini-series like Traffik; State of Play (which also involved the press); and Wire in the Blood, and it is completely unsurprising to discover that this 2 1/2 hour film was originally shot for television, as were the two sequels that follow it. Set in Sweden (mostly in the fictional town of Hedestad), the plot focuses on two main characters - the aforementioned Lisbeth, a pierced/tattooed/ink-black haired/twenty-something/chain-smoking/ninety pound/bisexual computer hacker/investigator; and, divorced, late forty-something investigative reporter Mikael Blomqvist (Michael Nykvist), who is convicted of libeling a powerful and wealthy CEO and sentenced to three months in prison. Awaiting incarceration, he quits his newspaper gig, and takes on a strange freelance job offered by another (semi-retired) captain of industry, octogenarian Henrik Vagner, who charges him with digging up information about his teenage niece, Harriet, who disappeared years before in the mid-sixties. We originally meet Lisbeth as she follows Blomqvist on assignment, but when the case closes she remains fascinated by him and what she is convinced is his wrongful conviction. Blomqvist moves from Stockholm to the rural Vagner estate, learns about the powerful family’s Nazi past, and begins delving deeper into events surrounding Harriet’s disappearance. Lisbeth meanwhile, breaks into Blomqvist’s lap top to track his comings and goings, stumbling upon the details of the Harriet case, and immediately becoming intrigued herself. Lisbeth and Blomqvist form an odd team; their understated relationship has an offbeat chemistry that, while far from dynamic, is interesting and complex. Lisbeth is a woman who has suffered abuse in her past, and her violation at the hands of a sadistic court appointed guardian is graphically detailed. She is no passive victim, however, and uses the rage inside her to fight back - with the case presenting itself as a potential path toward some catharsis for her damaged soul. A well put together policier with one outstanding performance from Rapace, who calls to mind Anne Parillaud’s title role in Luc Besson’s La Femme Nikita.