Movies With Maricor: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Directed by Niels Arden Oplev
Starring: Noomi Repace and Michael Nyqvist


By Maricor Capulong

I have heard good buzz about this movie a long, long time ago. I heard the book was even better. I'm not much of a sit still reader, so I opted for the movie version instead.

After nagging my fiancé about going out to see it, he finally went out and bought a copy. Stating that it had better be good (after all the trouble he had to go through to find it and have a date night in) or I would never be allowed to pick movies ever again.

Now for a month I have choice pick of movies, because on this movie! 

Continued below...

The story begins with Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist/ novelist who is known for blowing the lid off of certain high power corporate CEO secrets. Mikael was hired by the Vanger family to find information about the whereabouts of a missing relative, a niece that vanished 30 odd years long ago.

The Vanger family owns a big company of which was managed by the four founding Vanger brothers, three of which are Nazi supporters and hardcore racists. As he further investigates, the secret of the family starts to unravel into a decadently disturbing discovery. Mikael can only go so far as to find photographs of the missing niece on the day she vanished.

So when in the movie is the girl with the dragon tattoo finally going to meet and eventually help Mikael? Well while he is doing his investigation, Elisabet Salander is hacking into his computer, following his every file and doing her own investigation.

With this looming fascination and inspiration for helping Mikael's cause, she sends him her own notes on the Vanger case. Side stories intertwine perfectly into the plot, which helps give concrete back drop explanations of each character’s darkness, lightness, and the in-betweens.

It is easy to like Elisabet, hard as nails chick who can handle herself well it the face of other peoples evils. Not a character to be victimized, she embodies great strength and hides true weakness. Unable to make and form any sorts of emotional connection with other people, she lives life as an unhinged bi-sexual. Finding a true confidant with Mikael, she finds that she can be able to form a relationship, a distant romantic/sexual one at least.

The movie uses a lot of graphic scenes, but all of them have credible reasons why they should be there. The book and thus the movie also conjure up passable questions relating to society in general.

It questions morality in the context of power, in such situations for example, a rich corporations embezzling money from the public, or even a father forcing incest on his young. I love movies that try not to differentiate good and bad, that all the characters are flawed and capable of many things.

Elisabet Salander has gone through so many bad things in her life, witnessing her mother be sexually, emotionally and physically tormented by her father she took it upon herself to exact revenge at a very young age. At some point in the movie, she states that people are neither good nor bad that they all just differ in responsibilities. People can turn their backs on responsibilities and rules to get what they want, and to her it is just a basic human trait. It may sound jaded, but understanding her character, it sounds like words from the wisest old soul.

The end is nothing short of spectacular with car chases, startling confessions, and a twist that you never saw coming.

I could not wait until the next movie comes out on DVD. I hope it is as good as the first. I hear Hollywood is making an American version of this film, but I am sure that version will lack something this foreign film has an abundance of…. Some heart.

As I look into the roster for the American version, I see that they have enlisted Daniel Craig and Carey Mulligan for the two main characters. Preferably I like Daniel Craig, but they picked a too you actress to play Elisabet. Maybe Mulligan can pull it off, but then again filming is a long process, and something may happen and both may be re-casted. Good luck to that production.

Next review

Next up I will be watching the much anticipated movie by Christopher Nolan, Inception. I’ll let you know how I feel about it once I finally know the premise; the commercials don’t give anything for my imagination. Should be good.

Happy Week-end everyone!