The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

I was a little leery of jumping into yet another foreign film with subtitles; however, Michelle has been such a good sport with all of my selections that I thought I would return the favor and give The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo a spin. I’m glad she made the selection because, as most of you know, I wouldn’t generally choose a movie of this nature. As usual, Michelle did not let me down with her choice.

Niels Arden Oplev directs a wonderfully dark and twisted film, which made its silver-screen debut in 2009. This Swedish picture featured cast members: Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, and Sven-Bertil Taube just to name a few. If you have not heard of Noomi, you should become familiar with the name, she has what it takes to become an international sensation.

Now, back to our movie, which began with journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Nyqvist) being tried for libel statements he made against a well-respected businessman. The viewer quickly learns the verdict and sentence for his supposed crime. Before he can even process his conviction, a wealthy businessman, Henrik Vanger (Taube), requests Blomkvist’s presence. He is hesitant to go, but with life crashing down around him, Mikael decides to meet with Henrik as a way to temporarily escape his crisis of a life.

Henrik explains that he wants to hire Mikael to try and track down answers to a 40-year old murder investigation involving his niece Harriet Vanger. Henrik explains his relationship to his niece and how he loved her like a daughter. He wants some answers to her disappearance and believes that a family member is responsible for her early demise. He promises to pay Mikael handsomely if he would only attempt to locate some information regarding Harriet’s departure.

Blomkvist agrees to take on the job and begins in earnest with a stack of information provided by Vanger. Unbeknownst to Blomkvist, he has an interloper who has been regularly hacking into his personal computer and following his progress. This is the same individual hired, by Vanger, to verify Blomkvist was actually a trustworthy individual in light of recent court proceedings.
　
Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) continued to follow Mikael even after her initial assignment had ended. A recluse, emotionally fragile, and a hard-as-nails woman, Lisbeth resembles a cross between an 80’s rocker and a modern day Goth wannabe. Although her appearance is semi-disturbing, her mental prowess and abilities are top-notch.

Lisbeth becomes fascinated with Blomkvist’s quest and helps him by decoding a secret list found in Harriet’s diary. She sends him an email, which he quickly traces back to her. The two meet and decide to team up in order to find some answers to this age-old murder investigation. Do they find the killer or will they meet an untimely death? You’ll have to watch the movie to find out what happens to our super-sleuths.

The film was filled with twists and turns that most likely you won’t see coming. I’m not certain if that’s because it’s a foreign film and I was somewhat distracted by the subtitles or if it was just that magnificently crafted. Opleve certainly captures the dark side of people and portrays it in many different ways.

If you have never watched a foreign film before, you may not want to watch this as your first. The story line revolves around abuse and rape, which may not lend itself to all viewers. With that said, if you are in to mystery thrillers and can handle the above mentioned items, this film will keep you occupied until the very end (and that’s saying a great deal since it’s over two and a half hours long). I give this film four stars for superb acting, beautiful cinematography, and above all an excellent story line. The only minor criticism I have is that the subtitles at times moved along a little too quickly. Overall, a movie worth watching. Put this film on your must see list when you are in a dark-and-twisty kind of mood.

As a side note, this film is do to be released in 2011 in the US. My guess is that it will lose some of it’s impact, but I’m interested in seeing Hollywood’s spin on a great Swedish film.

That’s How Matt Sees It!