Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Written by Jonathan Jacobs

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a screen adaptation of the bestselling novel written by Swedish journalist turned novelist Stieg Larsson. Larsson died in November of 2004 leaving a trilogy of novels, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (originally titled Men Who Hate Women) being the first of the series. This is the closest to a modern day Sherlock Holmes to appear in almost a century. It is the kind of novel one expects from a true literary titan and the type of movie everyone expected Shutter Island to be. If you are looking for a film with mystery and intrigue without the employment of Hollywood parlor tricks, you must watch this picture.

     Mid forties Swedish journalist Mikael Blomkvist is a featured writer for the newsmagazine Millenium, a publication based out of Stockholm. Normally famous for his ability to uncover criminal activity among millionaire industrialists, Blomkvist finds himself in the midst of a libel suit as the film begins. Apparently he has accused Hans-Erik Wennerström of financial crimes spanning the globe. When Blomkvist published his story, Wennerström sued him for libel and curiously all of the sources and documents that implicated the industrialist simply disappeared. The journalist was sentenced to a shot prison term but would enjoy a stay of incarceration until the appeals process would either run its course or be ignored or denied altogether. In the meantime, Blomkvist is contacted by his former associates from the Vanger family. Henrik Vanger, former CEO of Vanger (industries) has been searching for answers for forty years. His grandchildren used to babysit for Blomkvist and as a result of the journalist’s reputation for being a crime-solver extraordinaire, in the interim before his sentence takes effect he becomes the latest "detective" to take the case of the missing granddaughter. Henrik’s brother’s granddaughter vanished forty years ago and there has never been any evidence confirming her whereabouts. Mysteriously, every year on his birthday, Henrik receives flowers sent from a different location in the world.

     Blomkvist is paid handsomely for his services, and considering the damages owed to Wennerström for losing the libel case, he can ill afford to pass on this opportunity. Moreover, as a little boy the missing girl of forty years, Harriet Vanger had been his babysitter for a time. Their age old association, however infrequent, convinces Henrik of the trustworthiness of our journalist. In doing a background check on the investigative writer, we are introduced to the girl with the dragon tattoo, Lisbeth Salander. Lisbeth is a former arsonist/murderer who could not tolerate the abuse her father doled out to her mother. This leads to a tragedy that has since defined her life, character and it influences her decisions. She is a computer hacker who backs the Mac, the iMac that is. She can do more with an Apple computer than most FBI agents can with a PC. To make matters more interesting she is a bisexual lesbian with commitment issues and a body that screams sexuality. Unfortunately, Lisbeth and Mikael do not meet until the movie is nearly halfway through. She is involved in a separate drama; all the while she is investigating him for the Vanger family and easily hacks into his computer to help solve the forty year old vanishing girl mystery.

     Lisbeth is out on parole under the custody of yet another new "guardian". This new custodian is unfortunately sexually abusive. He coerces his patients into performing fellatio against their will in return for financial favors. He tries this on Lisbeth and is at first successful because her computer is broken and she requires a new one to maintain her livelihood. He demands oral sex or he will tell the judge she should be imprisoned indefinitely. Lisbeth is clever but too trusting. She sneaks a camera into her bag in order catch him in the act at his own home, but she is violently raped in a nail-biting scene of harrowing male-on female violence. In revenge she ties him up and shows him the video tape of his rapist actions that will go out to the police. To add insult to injury, she kicks (literally) a giant unlubricated dildo into his sphincter at full force. He deserves this and more, and what more you must see to believe.

     At this point Lisbeth and Mikael become acquainted and it could not have come any sooner. He had hit a major stumbling block in his investigation. He may have been the best in his field but ironically this 40 year old case required modern technology and a computer expert to help crack it wide open. As the investigation precedes several family members look suspicious. Three of them were devoted Third Reich followers. It is revealed that the numbers Mikael has found associated with the victims (Harriet is suspected to be one among the murdered) are bible verses and not telephone numbers as previously suspected. The biblical passages reveal the motivation for killing in very specific ways. The only friendly family member who cooperates is Martin Vanger, brother of Harriet. Martin’s father drowned in a boating accident near the time Harriet vanished. Further complicating the mystery is Cecilia Vanger, Henrik’s niece who wears the amulet Harriet was last seen with the last day anyone ever saw her.

     As the investigation continues, Lisbeth and Mikael slowly develop a romantic connection. Their sex scenes are erotic and emotionally gripping. So much is suggested under the surface but so little is revealed about their past struggles. In many ways, the growth of their feelings is what catalyzes the investigation to make headway. Her tattoos are like works of fine art. The dragon tattoo is sort of like a modern Sistine Chapel painting on a human back, only with a Dungeons and Dragons twist. In the middle of all the action, Henrik has a heart attack. This leads the rest of the family to do their best to remove Mikael from their midst. This only makes him more suspicious and rightfully so.     

     The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is 2 hours and 32 minutes long. Recounting every detail would be like serving as a surrogate novelist for Stieg Larsson. As a movie reviewer I can only hope to have whetted your appetite for watching this picture. It is nothing like anything you have seen before and will leave you breathless. It is a rare type of movie. It is like a techno-thriller with minimal technology, like a love story with mostly brutal sexual assault and ribald sex, like a detective story but without the police. This is a novel come to life and visualized to the finest of details. There is so much to take in, but after having watched this picture I feel like there is a giant chasm between the movie reviewer before he pressed play and the indelibly changed reviewer afterward. This is a special movie, worth your time, your attention and your reading glasses (it is a Swedish film that has English Subtitles). Enjoy it and be moved.