Review of film: “THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO” ( = Swedish original version )

2010, 03-17:

Review of film:  “THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO”  ( = SWEDISH original name:  “Män som hatar kvinnor” )

           

Director:

Niels Arden Oplev

Writers:

Nikolaj Arcel

Rasmus Heisterberg

Starring:

Michael Nyqvist

Noomi Rapace

Lena Endre

Peter Haber

Sven-Bertil Taube

Peter Andersson

Ingvar Hirdwall

Marika Lagercrantz

Björn Granath

Ewa Fröling

Michalis Koutsogiannakis

Annika Hallin

Sofia Ledarp

Tomas Köhler

MPAA Rating:

Probably would be rated “R” due to graphic violence, sexuality, intense scenes, profanity, smoking, etc.

Quotes:

“Today, the verdict is delivered.”

“Lisbeth is a pretty ODD girl.”

“You order the goods, I deliver them.”

“You were a beautiful babysitter.”

“[He’s] a Sadist pig and a Racist.”

“You shouldn’t leave the bodies behind.”

“They always think I’ll show them MERCY…”

“He’s not coming back.”

“I’m sorry.”

MY Rating:

8.25 of 10 stars (based on an advance screening of the 2 hr. 32-minute film).

The Empowerment of Wronged & Abused Women

Mikael Blomkvist (MICHAEL NYQVIST) is a well-known writer for “Millennium” magazine.  As the film starts, he’s on trial for DEFAMING a well-known businessman, & he’s quite upset because he feels he was “SET-UP” by someone who purposely provided him with supposed factual information that they knew to be PHONY (so as to get him in trouble)...       

…  In time, the story shifts to the life of Lisbeth Salander (NOOMI RAPACE), a Goth-looking young woman with numerous facial piercings, who works as a computer HACKER for often-shady people who use her services…  Somehow, she’s been able to latch onto details about how Michael was “railroaded” by certain people…

…  Just as Michael wants to celebrate the Holidays with some family members, he’s summoned to an island owned by a company controlled by rich businessman Henrik Vanger (SVEN-BERTIL TAUBE).  He wants to hire Michael to investigate the long-ago disappearance of his favorite niece named Harriet (EWA FRÖLING), who once was a babysitter to Michael...    

…  Needing money (since he’s soon going to be sent to jail), Michael accepts the commission to try to find out what happened to Harriet (& to try to see if Sven-Bertil is correct that some FAMILY member is responsible for it all)...

...  At the island, he’s introduced to various other branches of the Vanger family:  Cecilia (MARIKA LAGERCRANTZ), nephew Martin (PETER HABER), and others…

…  Michael finds numerous sketchy facts (such as some coded words in a bible Harriet once owned), and keeps working to try to track down more helpful particulars.  At one point, he goes to a policeman named Gustav Morell (BJÖRN GRANATH), who worked on the disappearance case like 40 years before...

…  What Michael does not know is that Noomi has ALSO been secretly hired by Sven-Bertil to try to find out information, & she has hacked into the computer Michael is using for his work…  She finds out some things he’s not aware of, & in time starts to anonymously “FEED” him data on the case…

…  Before their “partnership” blossoms, we see a lot of details on the PREVIOUS hard, abused life Noomi had experienced.  Her problems continue with a slimy lawyer Nils Bjurman (PETER ANDERSSON) who gets himself appointed as her “guardian” for the parole she’s on (& in control of her money)…  Will she find a way to get BACK at the despicable actions of that guy…

…  This is an inherently “RAW” film, with loads of fairly graphic sex and especially general VIOLENCE (in that the “Harriet” case eventually turns into a discovery of loads of serial MURDERS that had been going on)… 

...  It’s not so much directly “bloody & gory” as it is ROUGH in how it shows the “AFTERMATH” of the creepy RACIST & WOMEN-HATING activities that are unearthed…

…  Will Michael find out who Harriet seemed to be “AFRAID” of (as seen in certain photos shot shortly before she disappeared)?…  Will he ever realize it’s NOOMI that’s been feeding “facts” to him, & will they ever meet in person?… 

...  Is it really a Vanger FAMILY member who’s involved in the disappearance, &, if so, which ONE of them?…  Is there really a “NAZI” link in the story?…

…  This film is unusually effective (& well acted) as a CRIME mystery, with a number of fascinating characters & lots of “TWISTS & turns” in the main story lines (altho they aren’t always “easy-to-take”)... 

…  It keeps you on the “edge of your seat” as facts (& “threats”) unwind, with palpable TENSION over & over again… 

...  And, at the very end, there’s even an “updating” on the lives of the two main characters…

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