The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009 film)
| The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo | |
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 Swedish release poster |
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| Directed by | Niels Arden Oplev |
| Produced by | Søren Stærmose |
| Screenplay by | Nikolaj Arcel Rasmus Heisterberg |
| Based on | The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson |
| Starring | Michael Nyqvist Noomi Rapace |
| Music by | Jacob Groth |
| Cinematography | Eric Kress Jens Fischer |
| Editing by | Anne Østerud |
| Studio | Yellow Bird Music Box Films Alliance Films Lumiere GAGA |
| Distributed by | Nordisk Film |
| Release date(s) | 27 February 2009 |
| Running time | 152 minutes |
| Country | Sweden[1] |
| Language | Swedish |
| Budget | $13 million[2] |
| Box office | $104,384,415[2] |
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Swedish: Män som hatar kvinnor – literally – Men Who Hate Women) is a 2009 Swedish film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Swedish author/journalist Stieg Larsson. It is the first book in the trilogy known as the "Millennium series", published in Sweden in 2005. The director is Niels Arden Oplev. By August 2009, it had been sold to 25 countries outside Scandinavia, most of them planning a release in 2010, and had been seen by more than 6 million people in the countries where it was already released.[3]
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[edit] Plot summary
Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist), publisher of Millennium magazine, loses a libel case involving allegations he published about billionaire financier Hans-Erik Wennerström (Stefan Sauk). Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) is a surveillance agent contracted to investigate Blomkvist. Salander delivers a comprehensive report on Blomkvist to a lawyer, Dirch Frode (Ingvar Hirdwall), on behalf of his only client, 82-year-old Henrik Vanger (Sven-Bertil Taube). Vanger hires Blomkvist to investigate the disappearance of his great-niece, Harriet, who vanished on Children's Day in 1966. Vanger believes that Harriet was murdered by a family member.
When Lisbeth Salander is told that her legal guardian has suffered a stroke, she is instructed to meet lawyer Nils Bjurman (Peter Andersson), who takes control of her finances. Bjurman, a sexual sadist, forces Salander to perform fellatio on him in return for access to her bank account. At their next meeting, he beats her, handcuffs her to his bed, and anally rapes her not knowing that Salander is recording the incident with a hidden video camera.
After Salander recovers from the rape, she pays Bjurman an unexpected visit. She stuns him with a taser and ties him up. She compels him to relinquish control of her finances and in one year's time to recommend termination of her state guardianship. Failure to comply with her demands will result in the release the DVD evidence of her rape to the media. Salander tattoos Bjurman's abdomen with the message "I am a sadist pig and a rapist".
Blomkvist moves into a cottage on the Vanger estate. Vanger tells him that his three brothers were all members of the Swedish Nazi Party. Of the three, only Harald is still living. Inside Harriet's Bible, Blomkvist finds a list of five names alongside what appear to be phone numbers. He visits retired police inspector Morell (Björn Granath) who informs him that his investigation team had been unable to decipher them. Using photographs taken during the Children's Day parade, Blomkvist believes that Harriet may have seen someone that day who may have killed her.
Using her access to Blomkvist's computer, Salander discovers the meaning of the numbers next to the names and sends an email to Blomkvist. Upon discovering that his computer has been hacked, Blomkvist is directed by Dirch Frode to Salander's apartment. He convinces her to help him with the case, and she joins him at the cottage. Together, using the clue that Salander discovered, they connect all but one of the names on Harriet's list to murdered women. They are all Jewish names, leading Blomkvist and Salander to suspect that the murders were motivated by anti-Semitism.
They suspect the reclusive Harald Vanger (Gösta Bredefeldt) to be the culprit, as the two other Vanger brothers had already died by the time Harriet disappeared. Salander searches through Vanger's business records to trace Harald to the crime scenes, while Blomkvist breaks into his house. Harald attacks Blomkvist, but Harriet's brother, Martin (Peter Haber), shows up and escorts Blomkvist to his home. When Blomkvist reveals what he has uncovered, Martin drugs him. In the meantime, Salander discovers that Martin and his father were responsible for the murders. She returns to the cottage to find Blomkvist missing.
Blomkvist wakes to find himself bound in Martin's cellar. Martin confesses to decades of rape and murder, but denies killing Harriet. Salander appears and attacks the killer with a golf club. While she frees Blomkvist, Martin flees in his car. Salander gives chase on her motorcycle. Martin drives his car off the road and dies in a fiery crash.
Blomkvist meets with Henrik and Morell to inform them that Martin did not kill Harriet. He flies to Australia and discovers Harriet living under her dead cousin Anita's name. He returns her to Sweden to be reunited with Henrik. Harriet reveals that she killed her father Gottfried, who, along with her brother Martin, had been sexually abusing her. Fearing for her life when she saw Martin at the Children's Day parade, she fled the estate with Anita's help.
Salander visits Blomkvist in prison and gives him new information on the Wennerström case. Blomkvist publishes a new story on Wennerström in Millennium, which is a sensation, and he is released from prison. Wennerström is found dead, and his offshore bank account in the Cayman Islands is raided. The police suspect a young woman caught on CCTV. Blomkvist is convinced that she is Salander in disguise. The film ends with the same woman walking along a sunny beach promenade.
[edit] Cast
- Michael Nyqvist as Mikael Blomkvist
- Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander
- Lena Endre as Erika Berger
- Sven-Bertil Taube as Henrik Vanger
- Peter Haber as Martin Vanger
- Peter Andersson as Nils Bjurman
- Marika Lagercrantz as Cecilia Vanger
- Ingvar Hirdwall as Dirch Frode
- Björn Granath as Gustav Morell
- Ewa Fröling as Harriet Vanger
- Michalis Koutsogiannakis as Dragan Armanskij
- Annika Hallin as Annika Giannini
- Tomas Kohler as "Plague"
- Gunnel Lindblom as Isabella Vanger
- Gösta Bredefeldt as Harald Vanger
- Stefan Sauk as Hans-Erik Wennerström
- Jacob Ericksson as Christer Malm
- Julia Sporre as young Harriet Vanger
- Tehilla Blad as young Lisbeth Salander
[edit] Critical response
The film has been met with critical acclaim. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a normalized score of 86% based on 168 reviews, with an average score of 7.2/10 and declares it "Certified Fresh". The critical consensus is: "Its graphic violence and sprawling length will prove too much for some viewers to take, but Noomi Rapace's gripping performance makes The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo an unforgettable viewing experience."[4] Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 76% based on reviews from 36 critics.[5]
Roger Ebert gave the film full four out of four star score. He describes it as a "compelling thriller" with a "heroine more fascinating than the story", and praises the "unwavering intensity" of Rapace's performance.[6]
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[edit] Box office
The film grossed more than $10 million in North America in a limited release of 202 theaters.[2] The total gross worldwide is $104,384,415.[2]
[edit] Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network response
The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, an American anti-sexual violence organization, had a positive response to the film due to its authentic portrayal of violence against women and the repercussions of sexual violence, as well as the importance of victims seeking help. RAINN created a social action campaign around the film for the purpose of encouraging screenings and discussion of the film.[7]
[edit] Awards and nominations
[edit] TV mini-series (extended) version
French premium pay television channel Canal+ aired the extended versions of the three movies as a mini-series (6×90 minutes) between March and June 2010, before the theatrical release of the second and third movies. The series premiere attracted over 1.1 million viewers. Considering the network is only available in 8 million French households, the series was a substantial hit.[8]. The series aired on US pay-for-view cable networks in the weeks leading up to the release of the US version film.
On 22 March 2010, Canal+ broadcast the first part in France. 18% (1.2 million) of the channel's subscribers in the country watched the program, which was the best opening of a foreign series at Canal+ that year.[citation needed]
A home video set of all 6 parts of the full miniseries was released on DVD and Blu-Ray by Music Box Home Entertainment on 6 December 2011.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo director queries US remake". BBC News. 10 November 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11726615. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
- ^ a b c d "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2010)". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=girlwiththedragontattoo.htm. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
- ^ "Män som hatar kvinnor en internationell kassasuccé". The Swedish Film & TV Producers. 4 August 2009. http://www.filmtvp.se/aktuellt/man-som-hatar-kvinnor-en-internationell-kassasucce/.
- ^ "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_girl_with_the_dragon_tattoo_2009/. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
- ^ http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo Metacritic CBS
- ^ Ebert, Roger (17 March 2010). "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". Chicago Sun-Times. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100317/REVIEWS/100319981. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
- ^ "RAINN's Dragon Tattoo Program". Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN). http://www.rainn.org/get-involved/dragon-tattoo. Retrieved 1 November 2010.
- ^ "Millennium trilogy". yellowbird.se. 25 March 2010. http://www.yellowbird.se/index.php?option=com_seyret&task=videodirectlink&id=280&Itemid=4. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
[edit] External links
- Official website
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo at the Internet Movie Database
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo at the Swedish Film Database
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo at Box Office Mojo
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo at Rotten Tomatoes
- Charlie Rose: A look at the film 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' with director Niels Arden Oplev
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