An adaptation of an apparent dime-store cheapie masquerading
as important literature, The Girl with
the Dragon Tattoo is overflowing with faux-titillating elements, from
lesbianism and rape to S&M-themed sexual violence and murder. Nazis also
play a key role in this cinematic version of the first novel in deceased
Swedish author Stieg Larsson’s “Millennium Trilogy,” though unlike kindred
best-seller phenom The Da Vinci Code,
this tale is less about fancifully rewriting history than merely indulging in
exploitation-fiction devices. After being disgraced and ordered to serve three
months in jail, crusading journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) is
hired by a wealthy industrialist to unravel the mystery of his beloved niece,
who disappeared without a trace forty years earlier. This investigation
ultimately pairs him with Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace), a bisexual computer
hacker – and laughably contrived wannabe badass goth antihero – whose
piercings, tattoos and jet black hair and matching apparel all speak to her
traumatic past and painful present, which involves being raped by her scummy
legal guardian. Their joint mission results in personal and professional
redemption, though not before director Niels Arden Oplev’s film can revel in
its seedier aspects – scenes of abuse are shot with commercial-slick
graphicness and more than one eye toward arousing rather than horrifying – while appropriating every aesthetic trope from the modern
Hollywood thriller handbook. Larsson and Oplev clearly intend their genre material
to double as some sort of statement on male brutality towards women, but the
proceedings’ omnipresent luridness negates any such intentions, reducing the
whodunit action to merely low-grade suspense rubbish.
Did we watch the same movie! I was glued to my seat when the story of Harriet began to unravel. The first 45 minutes was a bit slow and I had a bit of a hard time following the scenes while reading the English subtitles. But man that was a good murder mystery that I haven't enjoyed in a long time. I'd give it an A.
Posted by: Sine Mahilig | July 07, 2010 at 03:37 AM
Nah, initial rating is quite accurate. My girlfriend is a big fan of the novels, but i've questioned such a reasoning.
Honestly, I was intially captured by the film's presentation. However, by the last twenty minutes i was struggling to stay awake.
Let us all be honest here; if i were 16 years old, this movie would have starred Sharon Stone.
Respectable trash in its technical aspects, but still trash in the end.
Posted by: Mark E | July 13, 2010 at 07:25 PM
I certainly wasn't aroused; the shots were definately made to horrify. Also, Lisbeth was far more reasonable in the book, and her past his actually quite tragic. the ritualistic serial killer was actually well done. Larsson also had a history of being a journalist tackling scum like the guys in the book
Posted by: ryan | February 11, 2011 at 02:32 PM
Larsson was not a crusading journo. That was just the mythology built up by him and his partner Eva Gabrielsson. The books are absolute rubbish with zero characterisation and ludricrous, nonsensical, convoluted plots. Read Andre Jute's critical analysis of Larsson's supposed 'crusades' for womens rights. You'll be surprised.
Posted by: Fred | December 05, 2012 at 03:24 PM