Appropriately called the “feel-bad movie of Christmas,” The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a mystery thriller not for the young or those with weak constitutions. It is rated R, and inspires none of the stereotypical warm, happy-ending sentiments usually attached to films during this season. For this reason, I felt compelled to watch it on Christmas Day, not wanting another holiday family film or romantic comedy. Be warned, however, this is an extremely graphic movie with few moments to smile over, so any cheerful feelings are sure to be extinguished by the end of its 158 minutes.
An American adaptation of the Swedish novel by Stieg Larsson, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is packed with all the violence, villains, and cold Nordic weather intended by the author. Just like the novel, the film offers very few characters the audience could designate as “good guys,” with the exception of Mikael Blomkvist and the eponymous (anti-?)hero Lisbeth Salander.
The premise is simple: In the mid-1960s Harriet Vanger, teenage scion to one of Sweden’s most powerful families, vanishes without a trace from the small island the family takes residence, on the same day a mysterious accident occurs. Forty years later, her uncle Henrik believes he is in contact with the person who killed her. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a down-on-his-luck journalist facing libel charges, to track down her killer. He in turn enlists the help of “punk prodigy” Lisbeth Salander, hacker and private investigator, after he too becomes a target.
The audience quickly find themselves rooting for Lisbeth, who must deal with a sexual assault during the movie in which she is victimized by a sadistic abuser of power. We, along with her assailant, soon realize what Salander is fully capable of and get to see her equally graphic revenge scene. Not many times in media do we see a woman endure an assault like that, exact her revenge on her attacker, and be portrayed as the hero. “Victim” does not apply to Lisbeth and she, not Mikael, “saves the day.”
This film has garnered numerous accolades and comes highly recommend to anyone looking for an unusual thriller who can stomach the intense violence.