Far too few films feature enthralling character development and an elegant touch to create suspense and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is one of those works. It is a clever psychological thriller — not without its flaws but still much more intriguing than the average film. Although one audience member walked out in digust when he found out that it was filmed in Swedish with subtitles, I did not feel that that hampered the story at all. Interestingly, another woman in the theatre forgot that the film was restricted and reacted in shock whenever a rated-R moment occured.
Stieg Larsen elegantly incorporates elements from classic detective novels and brings them up to date for modern times. The film employs technology in a clever fashion to suit the plot. Although computers help solve the mystery behind the film, they do not overwhelm the characters who still must sleuth on their own.
Firstly, I enjoyed the manner in which the film presented first the two protagonists along two separate but parallel lines. Lisbeth and Mikael do not interact until at least an hour into the film. I wished to know more about each one and began to care about what happened to them. They were full-fledged people, not a computer enhanced cutout flicked away by Megatron without a second thought. It is rare event these days when movies adequately explain the motivation behind each character. I understood precisely why both became involved in the forty-year-old mystery and wanted to see the resolution.
Like real life, neither character has a clean slate. We gradually learn that Lisbeth, a mentally ill computer hacker, has a history of violence that still colours her actions. Mikael is a libertarian reporter who was recently found guilty of libel but he still seeks to uphold the values that lured him into the field of journalism. The two do not mix seamlessly but their stilted relationship seems far more logical than any quickie fling in a James Bond film. They are intelligent people and the director treats them with respect.
Unfortunately, like The Secret in their Eyes, a subtle mystery comes completely off the rails after the climax. It’s one of those “Hooray, the mystery is solved! But wait, it actually isn’t!” twists that overambitious screenwriters tack on to their works. Not having read the novel, I thought that the film could have ended fifteen minutes earlier and left some of the unanswered questions for subsequent episodes in the trilogy. Logic also abandons the film (If a psychopath kills rape victims because he doesn’t want to leave witnesses behind, why wouldn’t that person simply kill those who have uncovered the crimes? If this is a gritty and realistic mystery, why would the suspect keep the protagonist alive merely to explain what happened in further detail, like an incompetent egotistic super-villain would?).
Contrivances aside, the net effect of the film is enjoyable. ***½