The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
2009 · Directed by Niels Arden Oplev
Original language: Swedish
- drama
- thriller
- crime
- mystery
The story
Swedish thriller based on Stieg Larsson's novel about a male journalist and a young female hacker. In the opening of the movie, Mikael Blomkvist, a middle-aged publisher for the magazine Millennium, loses a libel case brought by corrupt Swedish industrialist Hans-Erik Wennerström. Nevertheless, he is hired by Henrik Vanger in order to solve a cold case, the disappearance of Vanger's niece
What it’s like
Cold Nordic palettes dominate: washed-out blues and greys, snow-blanketed coastlines, and interiors lit by hard fluorescent or lamplight that leaves faces in shadow. Oplev frames with a restrained, observational eye, favouring still medium shots and long, quiet takes of people working through paperwork, computer screens and archives, then cutting sharply to brutal, handheld-tinged moments of violence. Sound design is spare: wind, creaking wood, the clatter of keys, and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross's abrasive industrial score, which pulses under the tension like a low engine. The vibe is bleak, cold and unsettling, with a slow-burning dread that breaks into jolts. This is intense and not gentle: sexual assault and its aftermath, graphic rape and revenge violence, nudity, and disturbing cruelty are all shown on screen, with some scenes lingering uncomfortably. It suits a late-night, lights-off viewing by people who want a grim, methodical puzzle with a fierce, damaged protagonist, and it is best avoided by anyone seeking comfort or a softer thriller.
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