The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Review

Reviews, Theatrical Reviews

A fantastically crafted mystery that shouldn‘t be missed…

With how much movie trailers tend to give away in terms of plot and surprises these days, choosing to see a movie that you know absolutely nothing about can be an exciting venture. Walking into the theatre, taking a seat and preparing for the unknown can add to any drama, as you’ll be just as surprised as the characters involved as the story develops. This is how I felt when sitting down to watch The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, a foreign mystery/thriller that turned out to be one of the best films, if not the best, I’ve seen this year.

The Swedish made film, based on the novel of the same name written by Stieg Larsson, begins by introducing us to Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist), a disgraced journalist who’s just been sentenced to three months in prison after being sued for libel by a business tycoon. With his friends and co-workers needing to distance themselves from him, Mikael finds himself out of the job, that is until a business proposition comes in from Henrik Vanger (Sven-Bertil Taube), a wealthy former CEO of the Vanger companies.

Henrik, in his early eighties, knows his life is growing to a close, and has one final mission in life: to find out what happened to his niece, Harriet, who went missing forty years ago on the island where his estate resides. Knowing Blomkvist is one of the best investigative reporters out there, Henrik hires him to solve this mystery that will finally let his mind rest.

The main reason Henrik knows he can trust Blomkvist is because of computer hacker, Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace), who was hired to find out all she could about the reporter for the old man through the security firm she works for. Lisbeth has her own, deep story that opens up alongside the main mystery. Her belief that Blomkvist was set up by the business tycoon that got him prison time draws her not only deeper into the mystery of the girl’s disappearance but also into her past discretions as well.

The story is powerful, and holds nothing back, with some scenes involving rape and sexual assault that some may not be able to handle. At the same time, the film never exploits these aspects; everything is done for a reason that makes the film as strong as it ends up being.

Of course, being a foreign film, it must be pointed out that the film is subtitled, which may be a deal breaker for some movie-goers. This is unfortunate, as there are so many great foreign films out there that aren’t given the chance by many due to subtitles having to be read. It takes an American remake of a foreign film to get audiences to notice it, regardless if the quality is less than that of its overseas counterpart. The film is so well put together that driving home, I couldn’t imagine having seen the film in English, as odd as that may sound.

The realism of the film is only heightened by the superb acting job done by Nyqvist and Rapace. While they supporting cast is equally as good, the heart of the film is carried by these two, with the edge going to Rapace, who brings out haunting emotions in her more daunting scenes. Director Niels Arden Oplev makes this two and a half hour mystery flow together seamlessly, with superb pacing, and wonderful direction that leaves the viewers engrossed in the story, never even thinking about when it may end.

With the Academy opening up the Best Picture category to ten films, you can’t help but get the feeling that certain films have a much better shot than usual of making it to the grand stage. Hopefully The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is one of them.


Director: Niels Arden Oplev
Notable Cast: Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace
Writer(s): Nikolaj Arcel & Rasmus Heisterberg

Brendan Campbell was here when Inside Pulse Movies began, and he’ll be here when it finishes - in 2012, when a cataclysmic event wipes out the servers, as well as everyone else on the planet other than John Cusack and those close to him. Brendan’s the #1 supporter of Keanu Reeves, a huge fan of popcorn flicks and a firm believer that sheer entertainment can take a film a long way. He currently resides in Canada, where, for reasons stated above, he’s attempting to get closer to John Cusack.