The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (MOVIE)
Momentum Pictures

Original UK release: March 12th, 2010
Certificate (UK): 18
Running time: 152 minutes

Country of origin: Sweden
Original language: Swedish (with English subtitles)

Director: Niels Arden Oplev
Writers: Nikolaj Arcel, Rasmus Heisterberg, Stieg Larsson (novel)

Cast: Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Sven-Bertil Taube

I came to this film rather late. Despite hearing very good reviews and noticing its success at the UK box office, I completely missed out on seeing Niels Arden Oplev’s take on Stieg Larsson’s Men Who Hate Women, the first part of his posthumously released Millennium trilogy.

Swiftly followed by two sequels which, as I had not seen the first chapter, also passed me by, it was really only the release of David Fincher’s US remake of the The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo that really prompted me to watch the Swedish version as my preference would always be to see the original first if possible.

The plot of the film, for those who do not already know it, is that investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) is convicted of libel against a high-powered businessman whom he wrote an exposé on. Facing a short stretch in prison and an uncertain future for the publication he writes for, he takes a job working for wealthy industrialist Henrik Vanger; to discover who killed his niece 40 years earlier.

Along the way, Blomkvist teams up with the real star of the show, Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) and together they expose the dark past of the Vanger family.

Not only is Lisbeth the most interesting thing about the narrative of the film, but Noomi Rapace is the standout aspect of the production. Lisbeth is a young, dysfunctional, bisexual (though mildly androgynous) computer hacker who might be somewhere on the autistic scale. She has clearly suffered terrible things in her life and has developed her own brand of justice for those who wrong her and those she cares about.

Her brand of retribution may seem harsh to other people in the film, like Blomkvist, but it would be difficult for an audience member not to admire it.

Whether it’s in fighting back against her sadistic parole officer or flailing a broken bottle at a gang of youths who jump her in an underpass, you are never under any doubt that Lisbeth will ultimately come out on top. There is doubt however with regards to her past which is only really hinted at through the odd flashback and on her behaviour and it is through Rapace’s performance that you come to understand how horrific life can be when you live in the world’s seedy underbelly. Interestingly, one of the criticisms I have read of the film is that they don’t allow Rapace to go far enough in creating a spiky and angry Salander which certainly suggests room for expansion for Rooney Mara in the US version.

The mystery at the centre of the tale is not a particularly impressive one, and is one which I was pretty sure about from its introduction, and the revelations regarding a spate of killings is a bit of a damp squib. However, even knowing what the end will be, seeing Lisbeth and Mikael forge their partnership and follow the clues to their conclusion is pretty enthralling. It’s not scintillating however, but even though the twists are signposted a few miles off, you can still enjoy the characters approaching them. The rest of the cast support Rapace fairly well and those characters who you are meant to hate are portrayed with easily enough malice for you to do so – one of the final scenes for Henrik was fairly well delivered emotionally.

The film is not especially polished and it comes as no surprise to learn that is was originally conceived as a two-part TV drama and then upgraded to a feature film. Whilst I don’t think that this really detracts from the story and it has a very European feel with its wavering camera and muted tones, there is the possibility that the film could benefit from a splash more production value which is undoubtedly something which they have been able to add in the recent remake. Similarly, although it not badly shot, a little more creativity in the cinematography and lighting would go some way to added more of a sense of atmosphere which I am told is all pervasive in the book and maybe lacked a little in the film. Perhaps the best description would be that, cinematically it is a little workmanlike and not quite as slick as you might hope.

On the whole though, I did enjoy the film; it has some good moments, a fascinating central character in Lisbeth and an interesting relationship between her and Blomkvist. It wasn’t amazing stuff, but watchable enough, especially Noomi Rapace, and I was swept up by the investigation if not by the mystery. I will certainly be watching the two sequels and the remake at some point in the future.