Movie Review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

I wasn't planning to see this movie. I loved the book and I didn't want the movie to ruin it for me. However last night was one of those strange nights that didn't go to plan.  It's a reoccurring theme in my life.  I bought tickets to a football match and, while on the way to the game, I dropped in to check on some family who had been unwell. While there I noticed a match preview on television at the stadium I was heading to but it was a different game. I checked my ticket to see I had bought tickets for the wrong night. My tickets were for tonight. D'oh! A quick change of direction and I'm off to the cinema instead.  Lucky I'm versatile.


The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a thriller set in Sweden. Journalist Mikael Blomqvist (played by Michael Nyqvist) and social misfit Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace, who was perfect for this role) are commissioned by a wealthy businessman, Henric Vanger (Sven-Bertil Taube), to investigate a murder. Vanger's niece vanished forty years ago and he is convinced she was murdered by one of his family members who had gathered for a business meeting on the day of the disappearance.

Blomqvist and Solander discover a world more chilling than the icy Swedish setting as they uncover the events which occurred many years ago. Interwoven through this story is Lisbeth's confrontational battle with the lawyer who controls her finances.

There are moments of explicit violence in this film and a couple times I hid under the seat (I'm such a coward). The film is in Swedish and I had some trouble keeping up with the sub-titles in the opening scenes. To my delight, the movie was faithful to the book and it had a non-Hollywood freshness about it.

If I had to compare this film to a food it would be Pickled Herring – a bit different and for the adventurer.

And the good news is: I'm off to the football tonight. I already have my ticket. 

Go the Tahs!