Crusading Swedish journalist Mikael Blomkvist has been dealt a devastating blow when he is accused of libel by Hans-Erik Wennerström, an industrialist whom Blomkvist had publicly accused of dealing in illegal arms, among other sordid tactics. Yet when his sources mysteriously disappear, Blomkvist has no choice but to accept the guilty verdict, as well as a prison sentence of several months. He won’t be serving his sentence for a while yet, which gives Mikael plenty of time to quit from the magazine where he serves as co-publisher and to feel sorry for himself. But all that changes when Mikael is contacted by Nils Bjurman, the personal lawyer for Henrick Vanger, another billionaire Swedish industrialist who has an interesting proposal for Mikael.
Vanger wants Mikael to investigate the disappearance of his niece, Harriet, who vanished from sight when she was age sixteen over forty years ago. When she first disappeared, an intensive search was conducted all over the area where the Vangers lived, including dredging the waters for her body, yet no sign of her, nor where she could have disappeared to, was found. However, every year, on Harriett’s birthday, Henrick receives a pressed flower from somewhere in the world, presumably from Harriett’s killer, who is taunting Henrick even to this day. Mikael accepts the assignment, aided by Lisbeth Salander, a surly young hacker. But as they begin looking into what they believes is a cold case, things start heating up very quickly.
This film is based on the bestselling novel by the late Stieg Larsson, which was
originally called Men Who Hate Women--until the British publisher changed the
title to The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, and with very good reason. Because
Lisbeth Salander, a twenty-something young woman with nose and ear piercings,
and a ‘take no prisoners’ attitude to match, is one of the most memorable
fictional characters to come down the pike since Harry Potter first attended
Hogwarts. Lisbeth is a provocative, uncompromising, angry young woman who won’t
back down from a fight, no matter what the odds. And Noomi Rapace does a splendid
job at bringing the always fascinating Lisbeth to life.
While the movie is extremely faithful to the book, it makes some much-needed
changes, mainly in cutting off some of the excess fat that the book had, which
streamlines the film’s story into a lean, mean thriller. Niels Arden Oplev
directs with an eye for the small details--a must for a good mystery to work. He
also handles the more intense scenes with equal aplomb, and still manages to
catch one who’s read the book off guard. The superb performances by Rapace as
Lisbeth and Michael Nyqvist as Mikael, along with the assured directing by Opley,
makes The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo a new cinematic masterpiece in the suspense
thriller genre. Hollywood can keep its remake; as far as I’m concerned, the
definitive version of this story has already been made. --SF
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