The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
(A- or 3.5/4 stars)
Sweden has a knack for springing some pretty decent movies upon us. The latest one is based on an incredibly popular novel; it's going to be re-made in English (with Carrie Mulligan & Daniel Craig), & it is called 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo', directed by Niels Arden Oplev.
3 separate plot lines open the story: 1) Investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nykvist) writes for Millennium magazine, but has been found guilty of libeling a corporate tycoon after evidence used in an article he wrote has been determined fraudulent. He's sentenced to 3 months in jail, but has 6 to get his affairs together before serving. 2) During this period, the disgraced Mikael is hired by Henrik Vanger (Sven-Bertil Taube), an elderly CEO of a group of companies owned by a wealthy dynasty, to solve the 37 yr. old disappearance of his great-niece, Harriet, when she was 16 yrs. old. Henrik is convinced she was killed by someone in his own dysfunctional family, but has no evidence of such allegation. And 3) ex-con computer hacker, & amateur investigator Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace), learns quickly that her newly assigned social worker is a sadist who believes he can blackmail her into performing sexual favors in return of reports of her perfect behavior. And Lisbeth - tough as nails (ruthless personality, multiple body piercings/dragon tattoo) - is not one to take this sort of submission passively. Going back to her childhood (with her dad), she'd been victimized, misunderstood, & thus, has a strong mistrust of men; hindering any relationship prospects.
With time, these 3 plot lines (characters) converge by the narrative, with 2 of them (Mikael & Lisbeth) becoming an unlikely pair; investigating the mystery proposed in the elderly man thread. With Mikael's traditional methods, & Lisbeth's own spin on things (hacks computers easily, good at cryptology, has a photographic memory), the investigators get quite far in unraveling the truth of Harriet's disappearance some 40 yrs. ago. But when they start to link Harriet's disappearance to a series of grotesque murders ... some deep, dark secrets get uncovered (involving rape, incest, ritualistic killings, & Nazi sympathizers) that threatens to end the lives of this duo; and right as a personal relationship btwn. the 2 of them starts developing.
'TGWTDT' balances plot, mood & character development quite well. Of course, it's able to do that thanks to the 2.5 hour running time. The slowww revelation(s) that unfold in the plot are excused because of the characters & the cold, gloomy mood of it - Sweden, in winter, is just such a great place to film. So, yeah. The film is long, it's expressed in a foreign language, and it relies on atmosphere/characterization -- not plot. So those are minor hindrances, for me. Oh, also, if you're not into sadism, sexual perversity, & disturbing violence (man-to-woman), then you may have to bypass this film. But the graphic violence is part & parcel of the story. And the manner in which Lisbeth gets revenge on her parole officer is ... amazing.
Swedish/Icelandic newcomer Noomi Rapace is the biggest reason to check this film out. Pure & simple, she has a magnetic presence. Pierced, tattooed, goth, punkish, volatile, damaged, androgynous, mysterious ... she covers it all. Her physical presence & type of performance reminds me of the 1st time I saw Franka Potente in Run Lola Run, Carice van Houten in Black Book, or even Christophe Waltz in Inglourious Basterds. Michael Nyqvist, & the rest of the cast is solid, here. But all eyes are on Noomi. All said & done, the morphing of a chilling murder-mystery tale, sexual abuse drama, & emotional character study shows why this film has done well in America, & made over $90 mill overseas. The movie definitely has that special something.
3 separate plot lines open the story: 1) Investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nykvist) writes for Millennium magazine, but has been found guilty of libeling a corporate tycoon after evidence used in an article he wrote has been determined fraudulent. He's sentenced to 3 months in jail, but has 6 to get his affairs together before serving. 2) During this period, the disgraced Mikael is hired by Henrik Vanger (Sven-Bertil Taube), an elderly CEO of a group of companies owned by a wealthy dynasty, to solve the 37 yr. old disappearance of his great-niece, Harriet, when she was 16 yrs. old. Henrik is convinced she was killed by someone in his own dysfunctional family, but has no evidence of such allegation. And 3) ex-con computer hacker, & amateur investigator Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace), learns quickly that her newly assigned social worker is a sadist who believes he can blackmail her into performing sexual favors in return of reports of her perfect behavior. And Lisbeth - tough as nails (ruthless personality, multiple body piercings/dragon tattoo) - is not one to take this sort of submission passively. Going back to her childhood (with her dad), she'd been victimized, misunderstood, & thus, has a strong mistrust of men; hindering any relationship prospects.
With time, these 3 plot lines (characters) converge by the narrative, with 2 of them (Mikael & Lisbeth) becoming an unlikely pair; investigating the mystery proposed in the elderly man thread. With Mikael's traditional methods, & Lisbeth's own spin on things (hacks computers easily, good at cryptology, has a photographic memory), the investigators get quite far in unraveling the truth of Harriet's disappearance some 40 yrs. ago. But when they start to link Harriet's disappearance to a series of grotesque murders ... some deep, dark secrets get uncovered (involving rape, incest, ritualistic killings, & Nazi sympathizers) that threatens to end the lives of this duo; and right as a personal relationship btwn. the 2 of them starts developing.
'TGWTDT' balances plot, mood & character development quite well. Of course, it's able to do that thanks to the 2.5 hour running time. The slowww revelation(s) that unfold in the plot are excused because of the characters & the cold, gloomy mood of it - Sweden, in winter, is just such a great place to film. So, yeah. The film is long, it's expressed in a foreign language, and it relies on atmosphere/characterization -- not plot. So those are minor hindrances, for me. Oh, also, if you're not into sadism, sexual perversity, & disturbing violence (man-to-woman), then you may have to bypass this film. But the graphic violence is part & parcel of the story. And the manner in which Lisbeth gets revenge on her parole officer is ... amazing.
Swedish/Icelandic newcomer Noomi Rapace is the biggest reason to check this film out. Pure & simple, she has a magnetic presence. Pierced, tattooed, goth, punkish, volatile, damaged, androgynous, mysterious ... she covers it all. Her physical presence & type of performance reminds me of the 1st time I saw Franka Potente in Run Lola Run, Carice van Houten in Black Book, or even Christophe Waltz in Inglourious Basterds. Michael Nyqvist, & the rest of the cast is solid, here. But all eyes are on Noomi. All said & done, the morphing of a chilling murder-mystery tale, sexual abuse drama, & emotional character study shows why this film has done well in America, & made over $90 mill overseas. The movie definitely has that special something.