Scandinavian mysteries have become quite the phenomenon. We've had Wallander on PBS, and now the late Steig Larsson's Millennium Trilogy, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest in bookstores and movie theaters. With the exception of one thing, I loved the books and the first movie. The novels were well written thrillers, with a decidedly Euro-flair, since they were translated from Swedish. I'm not really familiar with Sweden, except for meatballs, Volvo's and Ingmar Bergman. I thought the books did have a little Bergman feel to them. With that said, here's what I thought of the first of the three movies...
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, the Swedish version, released on DVD, July 14. Starring Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander and Michael Nyqvist as Mikael Blomkvist.
They couldn't have cast a more perfect actress than Noomi Rapace. She was Lisbeth, from her pierced eyebrow to her platform boots, she was exactly as I pictured her, while reading the books. She's very androgynous, and extremely Goth. She also had the character down cold, lots of attitude and contempt, but also confusion and vulnerability. Lisbeth is one of those rare characters that is totally victimized, but never thinks of herself as a victim. She doesn't crawl away, she gets spectacularly even. I really loved that about her.
The actor who portrayed Blomkvist, the reporter, was also very good, in a shrugging Euro way. One thing that was so surprising, is the age of Nyqvist and the rest of the supporting cast. I admit, I haven't been watching a lot of European films in the last few years, so I don't know if this is a trend, but they used a lot of middle aged actors for this film, that really looked middle aged. I would say none of them looked good for their age. Really. I know that sounds awful, I guess I'm used to the nipped, tucked, agelessness of American actors. The plot does deal with a forty year old crime, but these actors looked like they lived hard, I'm talking rock star hard.
The one thing I didn't like about the first book or the movie is the graphic rape scene. I know it was an important event. It factors into all three books. I just didn't have to be beaten over the head with it. I didn't want to read the details, nor did I want to see them. I like to think that if Stieg Larsson lived, he might have toned it down a bit. This one scene has turned off a lot of female readers. I can honestly say there is nothing like it in the other two books. I know the original title of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo was Men Who Hate Women, so I understand why the scene is there. I just don't think graphic rape is a form of entertainment, in any medium. Suffice to say, my DVD player has fast forward and I used it through that scene. Although, what happens to the rapist is Epic Karma.
Of course, the Americans have garnered their own film rights to the books. It's said that Daniel Craig of 007 fame will play Blomqvist, and every young actress in the world wants to portray Lisbeth. Personally, if they can't get Noomi Rapace, they should go with an unknown. Look what we did with La Femme Nikita. I always thought Bridget Fonda was a little too perky for that role. I can see it now, Dakota Fanning in Goth makeup or Keira Knightly in a punk hairdo.
I would recommend this movie for a rent or buy. The Girl Who Played With Fire is in theaters now. If I can get the husband over to the fashionable part of town to see it, I will. The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest will be in theaters October 15.
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