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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Swedish thriller based on Stieg Larsson's novel about a journalist and a young female hacker. The native title (Män som hatar kvinnor) is Swedish for 'men who hate women'.

16-year old Harriet Vanger disappeared without a trace, on September 29th 1966. Nearly forty years later, a journalist gets contacted by an industrial leader who wants him to write the history of the Vanger family. The family chronicle is just a cover for the real assignment: to find out about what really happened to Harriet.

Starring Noomi Rapace, Michael Nyqvist, Sven-Bertil Taube, Peter Andersson, Peter Haber, Marika Lagercrantz

Directed by Niels Arden Oplev ('World's Apart', 'We Shall Overcome')

Written by Nikolaj Arcel, Rasmus Heisterberg (based on the novel by Stieg Larsson)

Thriller, Adaptation | 2hr 32mins | Rated (R16) | contains violence, sexual violence & offensive language | Origin: Sweden, Denmark, Germany | Language: Swedish with English subtitles

Flicks review

  • A 40-year-old cold case might sound as dusty as old drapes but throw in an exiled reporter, a hard-as-nails genius and a family of ageing eccentrics living in the icy wiles of Sweden and you’ve got a mystery as sprawling and wild as the landscape. Stieg Larsson’s gripping yarn is a tale within a tale sporting a tail that chases itself relentlessly. The film has everything: intrigue, murder, fraud, sadistic violence, romance, religious themes, horror, tear-jerking sadness and a web of storylines that merge within a climactic second half.

    Parts of the murder mystery play out like a far-fetched episode of CSI with some of the clues coming together too conveniently. But holding it together are the characters, all of them deeply dysfunctional or emotionally scarred. It’s impossible to escape the chilling sense the two leads are never safe from any of them. Actress Noomi Rapace gets the best role in unpredictable Lisbeth Salander, the ultra-intelligent but angry young hacker whose true essence is revealed layer by layer throughout the film.

    But what sets this apart is the gender role reversal and the wider themes of corruption, family betrayal and trust. It’s the chick who’s the real kick-ass hero, as sick as her brand of revenge is, and as warped as her history leads her to be. And it’s the society in which the characters dwell that leads us on this wildest of goose chases.

    By Rebecca Barry, Flicks.co.nz

 Our Rating       4

The Peoples voice

  • Where Was the Censor?

    No one notice the depravity & violence????

    By magyar

  • a goodie

     4

    wow! gets better as it goes along. good to see a mean as female hero for a change. riveting!

    By noeline mcintosh

  • Awesome!

     5

    This is a very well researched, clever movie. Not so intricate that you miss out if you blink but never a dull moment and, most of all, not predictable. Highly recommend!

    By Maysa

  • swede as

     4

    Blimey - Lisbeth Salander deserves her own TV series - chilly, cool and cruel up north allright.
    A few cliches and neat plot tie-ups but quibbles aside, as good as prime suspect but more intriguing with swedish sites and sounds.

    By keesh

  • Fantastic thriller

     5

    Wonderful, gritty, suspenseful.
    I haven't read the book though. I have a feeling that the original writer thought of some of the most scary things imaginable (sadism, leviticus murders, rape and violence against women, nazis) and decided to mix them.
    Still, a good story. Really good direction, especially with some particularly gruesome subject matter. I particularly enjoyed a scene with old photographs. Great acting. Wonderful.

    By Patricia

  • The best thriller in a long time!

     4

    As adaptations go, this was rather good. However, I am aghast that Hollywood will be making an English version.

    By Monty

  • EXHILLERATING

     5

    Blimey what a craker of a film, best I've seen this summer by a mile, gosh those sweds do it well
    anyway go see this film right now!

    By gerty

  • Silence of the Swedes....

     5

    So chilling it almost gave me frost bite. Such a shame that more people are not seeing this brilliant thriller.

    By LGI

  • Fast paced but misses key points

     3

    This would have been more enjoyable for me if I had not just finished the book.

    The thing is had I not read the book it would seem a smart and quick paced story, however in reality they brushed straight past half of the finer details of the story as written.

    In reality though even the most concise version of events they present here the film runs over two hours and does not waste a minute so guess it must have been near impossible not to drop key details.

    Interesting also was that they introduced parts of the second book that aren't actually in the first one yet.

    All in all pretty good who-dunnit flick though. Will be interesting to see what Hollywood does with the story as SONY have just picked up rights for English language version.

    By Michael

  • A triumph

     5

    Swedish, chilling, punchy, very smart, and totally captivating for its entire 147 minutes. Easily the best thriller we have seen for many many years.
    It seems authors' from that part of the world (with the harsh winter) can write extraordinary tales just as Hans Christian Andersen did for children but take note, this movie is certainly no childrens' story!

    By John

  • A MUST SEE THIS SUMMER

     5

    My husband and I check this out at the previews, as an avid fan of the books I can say this film does the novel justice and is intelligent, gripping and brilliantly acted. Looking forward to the next one

    By mr black

  • Outstanding!

     5

    The best most intelligent crime thriller of the year. The first of the Millennium trilogy, can't for The Girl Who Played With Fire!

    By Lucaskingofthedudes

  • Cleaver powerful film.

     4

    The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is a smart crime film with creative interesting characters. Highly recommend a watch, then probably a second watch to understand it.

    By Steve

 Collective Voice    0000000000004.50

Your review has been posted, you have spoken, and for that we thank you. – Ed.

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Press Reviews

  • Otago Daily Times (Mark Orton)

    3 3 out of 5 stars

    Nyqvist and Rapace do a fine job with stern emotional coldnesss while director Niels Arden Oplev reveals layers of Hitchcock-like intrigue.
    Click to read the full review

  • Variety (USA)

    With more than 10 million copies sold worldwide since 2005, it's no wonder this first novel in the late Stieg Larsson's culty "Millennium" trilogy has made it to the bigscreen so fast, though the pic version is more of an action-light whodunit than a real thriller, and more of a CliffsNotes version than a deeply disturbing portrait of what's wrong with contempo Sweden.
    Click to read the full review

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