One of my latest obsessions has been the books by the late Stieg Larsson which begin with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo which when published in Sweden where Larsson was from was called “Men Who Hate Women.” The trilogy of books were released after Larsson tragically died of a heart attack and have become huge best-sellers all over the world. The film, based on the first book, was the highest grossing movie ever in Sweden. It opens here in the US today in a bunch of cities before it rolls out nationwide.
Don’t mistake this film for a typical foreign film even though it is in Swedish. It was one of the most exciting films I have seen in a long time. The fact that it wasn’t in English never bothered me. Larsson creates a female character that you never see in the movies. Lisabeth Salander played by Swedish actress Noomi Rapace is a smart, damaged young woman who gets caught up in a 40 year old mystery along with left wing investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist). She is a small slip of a thing festooned with tattoos who has raised and protected herself and has erected a very large wall around her that no one can break through. When she is challenged and assaulted watch out cause you are in serious trouble. She kicks butt of the highest order and as she does it you can’t but help have a smile of your face knowing and feeling that she is some sort of avenging angel for all women who have been abused.
There has been a lot of debate about whether the film and the books are feminist. Some argue against it because there is so much graphic violence against women in of them. There is. It’s not easy to watch. The violence against women is one of the most important pieces of the story. But to me, while the violence is graphic, I never felt that either in the book or the film that it was gratuitous. And that’s what I usually hate most about violence against women especially in movies. People put violence against women in just to titillate. The violence in this film drives the story and legend has it that one of the reasons Larsson wrote the book was to expose this pervasive issue.
The film is long but you will not notice it because it is never for one second boring. I can’t wait to see it again and I hope when they remake it in English (Scott Rudin has bought the rights) for American audiences, that they keep the essence of Lisabeth intact and don’t tone her down to make her more palatable. She is so great because she is unpalatable. She is so great because she is different than any woman we have seen on screen before. She is a truly heroic character. It’s just awesome that this time the hero is a woman.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
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Hi,
I’ve been reading this blog for a while and enjoying it, but I have to take acception to the term “typical foreign film.” What on earth is that? The world is a big place, with filmmakers doing all kinds of work. Some of those filmmakers are even women. There’s no more such a thing as a “typical foreign film” as there is a typical female-directed film.
But I enjoyed the review on the whole, loved these books and looking forward to seeing the film!
Hah! Laura made a very good point. And American remakes usually suck. But that’s me being grumpy again. So now I’m looking forward to seeing The Runaways AND this movie. Yay!
Why does there always have to be an American version? I hate it when Hollywood does a remake of an already great film. Just because it’s spoken in another language? Well, we non-Americans have grown watching American movies in English and with subtitles; it hasn’t killed us.
Also, I agree with Laura Gillan. ‘Typical foreign film’ is an unfortunate expression.
I’m so tired of goddamned American remakes!!! Why do they have to remake everything? I agree with Carol de Assis. I bet they’re gonna put an ANOREXIC SKINNY BLONDE in the remake and change the story around to make her fall in love with some dude.
Ugh. I hate Hollywood.
Have seen this movie three times now, each time with film writers/makers, and we all found it so satisfying, for all kinds of different reason; and am planning to read the books.I really enjoyed this interview with Noomi Rapace: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/audio/2010/mar/11/girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo, and the beautiful, ageing, faces of some of the characters. Can’t imagine that Hollywood could replicate the rich experience this film provides.
No, I won’t be going to see this.
I’ve personally boycotted the grotesque-sadistic-violence-against-women genre, in both books and films, especially when they profess to be analyzing and/or protesting the practice of grotesque, sadistic violence against women and/or using it as an underlying metaphor for political and corporate corruption.
I’m sure it’s a fabulous film, and I have several friends who declare the book to be a fabulous read. However, there are a lot of fabulous films and books I haven’t seen or read, and my life has not suffered as a result.
I’ve seen the film twice and loved it both times. There are very harrowing scenes, but they are integral to the theme and story. It’s never gratuitous.
In particular, there are at least two scenes in this film that took my breath away (the first time I saw it I hadn’t read the books). I saw a woman do something I’d almost never seen before on the big screen: pursue a course of action to its relentless conclusion.
What makes Lisbeth such a great character, imo, is that she *refuses* to be made powerless. She will not accept the role of a victim. She always fights back because she deserves better. That makes her a magnificent role model.
The entire scene between Lisbeth and Mikael after they have survived a certain encounter is brilliant – it pivots on nuanced acting, with just enough dialogue to drive home the message.
By the way, there is violence toward men in this film too.
I just saw it tonight!
Loved your thoughts on the film Melissa!
Everytime Lisbeth kicks butt yes I was smilling and very much enjoying the moment!
The film does get pretty graphic, but I think there is a true statement being made in this film. There is some very thoughtful commentary on violence against women and mysogony in general in this film.
It’s not gratiutious. It’s not exploitive. The film is intense, but seems to be very clear on where it stands with women: violence against women is bad! Treating women like turds is bad!
I loved this movie. I loved the main character Lisbeth a lot!
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