Review #10 - The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

I am told, though I have not read it myself, that the book (written by Stieg Larsson) is more graphic than the film so those who have read the novel, or even seen the Swedish version, will be expecting it’s difficult themes and dark content but those who haven’t, be warned.

   That aside, on with the review! Due to the structure of the plot, ‘The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’ falls into the genre of mystery, yet somehow doesn’t feel like a classic mystery film. Often in mystery films every character the audience meets is immediately made to seem suspicious but this isn’t so in TGWTDT. However with many of the characters being ex Nazis’ the suspicions are already there without the drawn out music and the drawn out close ups of shady eyes. In fact I thought the music was brilliant; it was a strange ‘plinky plunky’ kind of music that made it tense and unsettling, perfectly fitting for a film that’s main theme is rape. Near the end, when the murderer is detailing his crimes and his enjoyment in them, the music works to great effect incorporating echoed, painful screams that merge with the strange sounds of the music.

     There are two scenes I particularly would like to bring to your attention, firstly the scene in the elevator where the rapist becomes the victim (more so than in the scene where he is tortured) because we see how he is tormented by his “rapist” and left with the same fear and shame that his own victims had inflicted upon them. The look of utter terror, shame and fleeting relief that she had stepped out of the lift as the doors close was a particularly jarring moment.

    The second scene is the discussion with Harriet at the end. Completely different from the other scene, it is an almost tender moment between two victims. *SPOILER* Harriet (Moa Garendal) gently asks Mikael (Daniel Craig), “How did you escape” who quietly replies; “somebody saved me too”. They are swapping stories and Harriet is admitting for the first time events that she has never told anyone other than Anita before. She plays the part perfectly by showing her struggle with emotions but at the same time not completely losing it and regressing back to her 14 years old damaged self. I liked how the fact that she murdered her father was not dwelled upon as it was just accepted that it was necessary, that it was self-defence.

    Moa Garendal’s excellent portrayal of the character is truly revealed through a second viewing of the film. I actually ending up seeing this TGWTDT twice and noticed the very slight portrayals of emotion that reveal the ending if you know it but are too subtle to give it away on a first viewing. For example Harriet’s face betrays a brief flicker of shock and relief, when she hears of Martin’s death, that the audience may not notice until a second viewing. The flowers also make you think ‘could it not just be her, still alive, sending the flowers’ but it is a thought that is given no other evidence to fuel it and so it is quickly forgotten until at last the pieces begin to come together. It is a very clever, very subtle way of unfolding the mystery. Also the way Harriet/Anita speaks when Mikael first talks to him, although the character is very clever at talking about herself in the third person, analysing herself, she slips up when she says “Who? My father?” but luckily it goes unnoticed by Mikeal and most likely the audience too; All the pieces of the puzzle come together by seeing the film again

      The only bad point I could find about the film was its length. Lisbeth (Rooney Mara) and Mikael take a lot of screen time before they join forces, which makes the film more interesting and immersive but also has the effect of making it seem even longer. Then after the murderer’s death you kind of forget that there is more going on in the story that is unanswered. The modern audience has been conditioned to believe that the dramatic gunshots or explosions are followed by a dénouement, which will most likely involve estranged characters making peace, a romantic couples kissing, or the general summing up of events. However in TGWTDT the film continues past the point where the audience feels a natural ending in order to tie up the last loose end. When the film does actually end there is definitely a sense that something more is going to happen and because the audience know that this film is the adaptation of the first in a series of books we expect more to come.

   This film deals with difficult themes but is cleverly crafted; it will draw you in and genuinely keeps you guessing until the end. Parts of the film are not easy to watch but they didn’t degrade the film or put you off. Complex, dark and intriguing, ‘The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’ is definitely a 4 star film.