Female computer hacker, large corporate scandal, murders, mystery, fascism, rape, and violence. Interested yet? The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a Swedish movie based on the novel The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. The film revolves around journalist Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander.

The film center on Mikael Blomkvist an idealistic muckraker of Sweden, he is given information and sources that a large company (Wennerstrom) is engaged in shady activities like arms dealing, as well as bribery and various other crimes. However his sources vanish and most likely he was set up. During his trial we meet Lisbeth Salander she works for Milton Security and generates a report of Blomkvist including his bank statements, email messages, his teenage exploits, and his lovers.

Lisbeth Salander is an unorthodox heroine. She is a computer hacker of epic proportions and finds all of this information out by hacking into Blomkvists computer. Lisbeth is not your average computer hacker she is thin, smokes and has a massive dragon tattoo along her back. She dresses in leather jackets and has multiple piercings. She works at Milton Security as “researcher.” She becomes entangled with Blomkvist while investigating him. Blomkvist discovers he’s been hacked and recruits Lisbeth in uncovering what happened to Harriet Vanger.

Both work together to find out the truth about what happened to Harriet Vanger who went missing all those years ago and what they find is full of twists and surprises from Nazism, to fascist ideals, to violence, and more dark subject matters.

Plot: As summarized above the plot is great. This movie focuses on plot, with each character developed and serving a purpose. The twists and turns that this movie takes on is jaw dropping and I don’t wish to spoil it but it touches on a lot of issues as well from women’s rights to fascism and Nazism of Sweden by exploring the Vanger family during the investigation. The beginning of the film is a bit slow but it picks up quite nicely and the film is two and half hours long and you cannot take your eyes off of it. A lot of mystery seems the same but this is a bit different it has multiple plots it has the Wennerstrom affair, to finding out what happened to Harriet Vanger, with a side plot developing the character of Lisbeth Salander.

Character/Acting:
Unlike other mystery and suspense films involving investigation the protagonist is a journalist and a not a crusading police authority. We feel sympathy and admire his unrelenting pursuit of the truth. The second protagonist Lisbeth Salander is again a uniquely amazing character visually she is the epitome of stereotypes a punk type girl with multiple piercings tongue, and tattoos she is terse and cold. She smokes a lot and yet she is a computer hacker. In the film we discover she is considered mentally unstable by the government and is under guardianship. The acting is really a treat. It is made in Sweden and the characters epitomize and every scene and actor is in place creating the world of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The Swedish actress who plays Lisbeth Noomi Rapace actually started smoking and to play the role that is dedication and paying true homage to the character. The other actors are a bit undermined by such a strong female protagonist.

Cinematic transition from the book to the film: The overall transition is decent however the book has some details in which the film tries to cover but its presence in the film is a bit awkward as there is no exposition or reason for them to be there. The book has more details and is a great read. The film transition is very good unlike many other film transitions. The film respects the novel but more importantly the actors respect the novel.

The film is highly recommended toward mature audiences. This is a film with a deep plot, and deals with many dark issues of society that needs to come to light. The film is graphic and real and doesn’t hold back it draws you in with straightforward storytelling to tell you a story that is both entertaining yet is more than entertainment it shows us the darker side of humanity and exposes injustices.

Overall I rate the movie a 4.9 out of 5 the only complaint is its slow pacing in the beginning as well as some of the product placement *cough Ikea Apple cough*. Again this is a film for mature audiences it does not gloss over rape and murder nor does it make light of these subject matters but forces us to face it.

There is plan for a Hollywood remake of the movie due to its popularity but it would butcher the film completely. I highly recommend watching the Swedish version it is truly the best representation of this film.

Here is the original Swedish Trailer: