{Män som hatar kvinnor}
 Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared from a family gathering on the island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger clan. Her body was never found and her beloved uncle is convinced she was murdeed and that the killer is a member of his own tightly knit but dysfunctional family. He employs disgraced investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist and the tattooed and troubled yet resourceful computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) to investigate. When the pair link Harriet's disappearance to a number of grotesque murders from almost forty years ago, they begin to unravel a dark and appalling family history. But the Vanger's are a secretive clan, and Blomkvist and Salander are about to find out just how far they are prepared to go to protect themselves. The Millennium Trilogy is a series of three bestselling novels written by Stieg Larsson. The novels in the series, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest, were first published in 2005, 2006 and 2007 respectively. The primary characters in the series are Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist. Lisbeth is an intelligent, eccentric woman in her twenties with a photographic memory whose social skills are rather poor. Blomkvist is an investigative journalist, a celebrity in his own right, and has a history not totally dissimilar to Larsson's own. The trilogy has been made into three films:
Storyline: Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared from a family gathering on the island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger clan. Her body was never found, yet her uncle suspects murder and that the killer is a member of his own tightly knit but dysfunctional family. He employs disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist and the tattooed, ruthless computer hacker Lisbeth Salander to investigate. When the pair link Harriet's disappearance to a number of grotesque murders from almost forty years ago, they begin to unravel a dark and appalling family history; but, the Vangers are a secretive clan, and Blomkvist and Salander are about to find out just how far they are prepared to go to protect themselves. Written by Music Box Films Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Dustin Somner, July 10, 2010 Based on the bestselling novel by the late Swedish author Stieg Larsson, Män som hatar kvinnor (also known as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) is the first of three films in the "Millennium Trilogy". For those unfamiliar with Larsson's history, he was a journalist who turned to novelizations in his late career, building the construct of his "Millennium" novels around social observations and his own personal political convictions. Well known for his outspoken opposition to racism and extremists in the far right, Larsson lived much of his later life in a shroud of secrecy, ending with his death from a heart attack at age 50. The "Millennium Trilogy" was released in piece-meal succession between 2005 and 2007, gaining widespread critical acclaim, and earning numerous literary awards along the way. Naturally, the screen rights were soon picked up for a Swedish production with immense anticipation attached to the project. The end result is more than just an entertaining introduction into Swedish filmmaking – it's one of the finest cinematic mystery adaptations of the past decade. Following a wrongful conviction for defamation, journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) is summoned to the estate of aging millionaire Henrik Vanger (Sven-Bertil Taube), the former head of the Vanger Corporation. Knowing Mikael has six months before serving the prison sentence recently handed to him, Henrik offers a deal to the investigative journalist that is simply too intriguing to pass up. According to Henrik, Mikael use to visit his father (an employee of Vanger) at the Henrik's estate during the summers of his youth. While there, he was babysat by Henrik's neice, Harriet (Julia Sporre), who the industrialist viewed as the closest thing he had to a daughter. During the summer of 1966, Harriet travelled to the mainland (the Vanger estate is located on a small island) to attend a festival known as Children's Day. Later that afternoon, there was a huge accident on the only bridge back to the island, closing any access on and off the island for a substantial portion of the day. At some point between the parade attended by Harriet and nightfall, Henrik believes someone killed young Harriet and disposed of her body. The police were never able to make much progress in their investigation of her disappearance, but given the constant family power struggle over the Vanger fortune, and the convenient timing of a family reunion the weekend she disappeared, Henrik believes the responsible party is a member of the Vanger lineage. This theory is compounded by Henrik's receipt of a framed flower each year since 1967, mirroring the annual gift Henrik received from Harriet in her youth (a clue he believes to be known only within the family). Naturally, the history of Harriet's disappearance is too interesting for Mikael's investigative mind to pass up (I'm sure the financial incentives help), as he accepts Henrik's plea for one last stab at closure. Assisted in his investigation by a 24-year-old computer hacker named Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace), Mikael follows a trail of breadcrumbs that lead into the deepest recesses of the human psyche, revealing dark secrets around every corner. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is one of those rare cinematic treats that completely caught me by surprise. Approaching this review, I'd only heard rumblings about the film adaptation, which I presume is largely faithful to Larsson's original novel (given the glowing assessment of the screen production among fans of the original story). I wish I'd acquired a base of reference to compare the international bestseller to the storyline offered here, but since I've never taken the opportunity to dig into the novel, I'll simply address the film on its own merit alone. As you can tell from the synopsis above, there's a wonderful undercurrent of mystery to be found in the basic investigation the film is built around. However, what's difficult to convey in a discussion of the story is the depth of layering found in each character that populates this journey of discovery. Despite my glossed-over inclusion of young Lisbeth in the synopsis, her character is one of the primary strengths in the shaping of the story, lending significant emotional weight to events that occur later on in the film. Her violent upbringing and continued abuse at the hands of monstrous men have cast the world around her in black and white, forcing her to develop a shell that's difficult to crack. When Mikael enters the picture and requests her help in his investigation, there's a distinct period of time when she's gradually feeling him out, fearfully expecting him to turn into another monster (thereby continuing the cycle). As the film goes on, the relationship develops into an odd mix of arm-distance chemistry, with both parties struggling over old wounds that never quite healed. Whichever way you choose to look at the film (character-driven or investigation-focused), the multi-faceted approach in keeping the audience entertained is a tremendous selling point. Without divulging too much about the investigation at the heart of the story (for the record, the synopsis listed above includes information you'll know within the first 20 minutes), I'm compelled to briefly touch on the delivery of clues and how they play a role in making this such a memorable experience. In my younger days, I recall watching countless Agatha Christie films (Death on the Nile was always my favorite), and adored the manner in which various clues were eventually pieced together in the closing minutes of the film. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo takes a different approach, by setting up a new mystery as each clue is divulged. For every "ah ha!" moment between the two lead protagonists, we're provided an equally satisfying sense of head-scratching fun. In this manner, director Niels Arden Oplev wraps the audience around his finger, stringing us along just long enough to set up the next revelation. It's difficult to discuss the strengths of the film without also bestowing extensive credit on the cast. Noomi Rapace does an excellent job tackling incredibly difficult subject matter in her role as Lisbeth, bringing a true sense of depth to the character. Appearing tough on the outside yet damaged to the core, Rapace never falters in her ability to breathe life into each scene, often saying more through her facial expressions than words. Ranking at a close second to the fine performance from Rapace, we have Michael Nyqvist as journalist Mikael Blomkvist. His role isn't nearly as demanding as his co-star, but he still delivers a commanding performance when needed, and builds necessary chemistry through his gentle demeanor. You can always tell there's a certain intensity lying just under the surface, but it's that sense of restraint that lends an endearing quality to his character. As a word of warning, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo contains an extremely violent rape scene that some viewers may find difficult to watch. I personally didn't find it sensationalistic within the context of the plot, and consider it a key element in establishing motivations and character-elements later in the film, but I recognize it may bother some members of the audience enough to be a deal-breaker. I'd encourage any potential viewers to use sound judgment in determining their own ability to separate uncomfortable film depictions from reality, since I'd hate to throw anyone to the wolves as a result of my positive review. Bottom line, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is one of the greatest films I've been exposed to this year, and likely one of the best mystery productions in the past decades. I know I'm setting expectations extremely high by offering such a bold assessment, but I truly believe anyone with an eye for investigative thrillers won't walk away disappointed. [CSW] -5- A captivating and gripping thriller with very satisfying endings spaced throughout the movie. Cast Notes: Michael Nyqvist (Mikael Blomkvist), Noomi Rapace (Lisbeth Salander), Lena Endre (Erika Berger), Sven-Bertil Taube (Henrik Vanger), Peter Haber (Martin Vanger), Peter Andersson (Nils Bjurman), Marika Lagercrantz (Cecilia Vanger), Ingvar Hirdwall (Dirch Frode), Björn Granath (Gustav Morell), Ewa Fröling (Harriet Vanger), Michalis Koutsogiannakis (Dragan Armanskij), Annika Hallin (Annika Giannini), Sofia Ledarp (Malin Eriksson), Tomas Köhler ('Plague'), David Dencik (Janne Dahlman). IMDb Rating (02/09/18): 7.8/10 from 187,994 users
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