The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Directed by: Niels Arden Oplev
Written by: Nikolaj Arcel and Rasmus Heisterberg (screenplay), Stieg Larsson (novel)
Starring: Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Sven-Bertil Taube, Peter Haber

Over the past year it seems like everyone has been talking about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and apparently I’m one of the last people on the planet to find out who this girl is and, more importantly, where that tattoo is located. The only thing I really knew about this movie is that it was based on a popular Swedish novel and that David Fincher was attached to direct an English language remake. That was enough to get me interested, but the the fact that it is the first in a series of books all called “The Girl Who…” made me think that it might be another teen series in the vein of Twilight or Harry Potter. As it turns out, that is definitely not the case.

This is a crime thriller for adults, and it doesn’t take long for this movie to go to some pretty dark and disturbing places. There are some uncomfortable scenes of rape, abuse and other graphic imagery that make it pretty clear that this movie is not for kids. Also, contrary to what the fantastical title may or may not imply, there is nothing supernatural at work here. Either way, there is something about a good thriller with a mystery that is absorbing and skillfully unveiled, that will pull you in and never let go. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo definitely falls into this category, although in the end, I’m still not sure that it’s worthy of so much hype.

Mikael Blomkvist is a well-known journalist who is sentenced to prison for libel after writing a story about a corrupt Swedish industrialist. Before he serves his sentence, however, he is approached by a wealthy old man named Henrik Vanger, who wants him to investigate the unsolved murder of his young niece Harriet, which happened forty years earlier. Blomkvist agrees, but soon finds himself pulled into the many dark secrets of the Vanger family, including the fact that some of them were Nazi sympathizers. Along the way, Blomkvist teams up with a young female hacker who helps him find several clues that may lead them to Harriet’s killer.

By far the most interesting thing about the movie is the character on which the title is based, Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace), a troubled 24-year-old computer hacker whose body is littered with tattoos and piercings. Although she might initially seem like some horribly cliched goth alterna-chick, after seeing her endure numerous forms of abuse and keep on kicking ass, you can’t help cheering her on in this film. She seems like a cross between Angelina Jolie’s character in Hackers and Ellen Page in Hard Candy, and the mystery surrounding her own past is perhaps more compelling than the mystery of Harriet’s murder. Unfortunately, if you’re hoping for closure, much of her own problems are never fully resolved. The obvious reason for this is because there are two sequels still to come, so in that sense, the movie feels somewhat incomplete.

Blomkvist, on the other hand, is a fairly bland protagonist, not unlike Robert Langdon from Dan Brown’s books. Fortunately, Michael Nyqvist brings a quiet confidence to the character, which provides a nice contrast to Lisbeth’s angst and recklessness. He manages to make their relationship seem a little bit more believable than it probably should be, allowing us to look past its contrived nature. It’s interesting to note that the original title in Swedish translates to “Men Who Hate Women”, which illustrates some of the feminist undertones at work here.

With regards to the plot, it does fall victim to a number of standard mystery/crime thriller cliches. There are a few too many scenes with news headlines being researched online and and photographs being analyzed and enhanced in Photoshop. At some point it is discovered that the killer is ritualizing his victims based on Biblical passages, which seems immediately reminiscent of Seven. Unfortunately this movie doesn’t have the same urgency as Seven, since they are tracking down all of these victims many years after their death. Perhaps one of the biggest problems is that there is not enough danger throughout the film; Lisabeth’s problems with her new guardian would seem to be the most serious conflict of all, but this is resolved early on and then ignored for the rest of the movie.

The movie is well shot and the cinematography is quite striking for the most part, but there are some strange moments where the movie suddenly seems like it was shot on digital video. I’m not sure if this was due to the encoding on my screener or what, but during certain exterior shots or scenes with pronounced camera movement, there was a subtle visual difference that really took me out of the moment. There is an unconscious feeling that suddenly you are watching a made-for-TV production, which is not a particularly good thing.

Still, in spite of its flaws, I found The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to be a solid and engaging (albeit somewhat conventional) thriller. Although the plot isn’t particularly inventive, the performances definitely make up for it, and help pull you right through the two-and-a-half hour run time. The violence is shocking at points and incredibly affecting, and the exploration of the darker elements of Swedish society is provocative. While I wouldn’t necessarily call this one of the best movies of the year (as many others have), I do think Lisbeth Salander will go on to be one of the most memorable characters of the year. Above all, this scrappy female carries the popularity of the series and is the main reason I would consider checking out the sequels. Also, mark my words… there are going to be a lot of new fans getting dragon tats over the next year or so.

Note: Although my screener didn’t contain any of the special features, extras on the DVD release include an interview with Noomi Rapace, interview with director Niels Arden Oplev, and The Vanger Family Tree. — Sean

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