The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Posted on July 5, 2010 at 9:49 pm
B+| Lowest Recommended Age: | Adult |
| MPAA Rating: | Rated R for disturbing violent content including rape, grisly images, sexual material, nudity, and language |
| Profanity: | Very strong and explicit language |
| Alcohol/ Drugs: | Drinking, smoking |
| Violence/ Scariness: | Very graphic and disturbing violence including rape |
| Diversity Issues: | Strong female character, character with possible Asperger syndrome |
| Date Released to Theaters: | November 7, 2009 |
| Date Released to DVD: | July 6, 2010 |
| Amazon.com ASIN: | B003FBNJ4U |
If you have not read any of the Millennium trilogy of novels by Swedish journalist Stieg Larsson, someone near you has. A worldwide sensation published after the death of the author, the books follow the title character, Lisbeth Salandar, a slight but tough and determined young woman who is a genius with computers but possibly Aspergian in her inability to connect to other people.
This film, based on the first of the books, comes out on DVD just as the second film with the same cast is released in theaters and the third book has been published in the US. It won the Swedish equivalent of the Oscar for best film and best actress for Noomi Rapace as Salander.
They are already working on an American version, but it is hard to imagine that it could match this superb adaptation, utterly true to the book and yet completely cinematic. As the story begins, a character much like Larsson takes center stage. He is Mikael Blomkvist (superbly played by Michael Nyqvist), a journalist in disgrace and about to go to jail for publishing false information about a powerful businessman. As he waits to begin to serve his term, he is offered an intriguing opportunity — a wealthy man hires him to investigate the disappearance of his favorite niece, forty years ago. Salander finds out what he is doing and begins to help him, at first anonymously, and then more directly. Together, they get tangled up in a world where every rule is violated, every promise broken, every loyalty betrayed.
Wow – definitely agree this one is absolutely not for kids. I’ve taken my teen and pre-teen to see R rated movies (District 9, Slumdog Millionaire), but this movie was WAY too disturbing, and I knew what to expect, having read all 3 books.
For fans of the books, it’s well worth checking out. Obviously they had to cut out a LOT, given the vast scope of the novel and the number of characters. I would imagine anyone who hasn’t read the book would have difficulty following the movie.
It’s fascinating to see how the movie was cast in Sweden. These actors look like folks who could be your neighbors or co-workers, as opposed to Daniel Craig, who I’d LIKE to have as a neighbor 🙂 The acting is superb, and Noomi Rapace deserves any awards out there. But the graphic scenes are very disturbing, and evidently are repeated in the second movie (which makes sense, but I’m not looking forward to it). There was a lot more graphic violence in the books that thankfully didn’t make it to the screen.
If you haven’t read the books – read them. And if you’ve read the books and you’re old enough to buy your own ticket, this is worth seeing in the original Swedish version. I have very low expectations for any American remake.
Thanks, sleepyndoc! I thought this was one of the better book-to-movie adaptations I have seen. And Rapace is terrific. If you see the second one, let me know what you think!
Like sleepyndoc said, if you’re a fan of the novels, definitely check out the movie, but parents be weary letting your kids go see this.