Män som hatar kvinnor
Män som hatar kvinnor (2009)
★★★★ / ★★★★
The first part of the “Millennium” trilogy originally titled “Män som hatar kvinnor” or “Men Who Hate Women” focused on a journalist named Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) who was sentenced to three months in prison for libel and computer hacker named Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) assigned to keep tabs on his activities. A wealthy man who established the Vanger company hired Mikael to investigate a 40-year-old case involving a disappearance of his niece who he believed to have been murdered. The more Mikael and Lisbeth differentiated between truths and lies about the case, the more they risked their lives because they had no idea who to trust since the killer might be a member of the Vanger family. I loved the way the movie started off with the two main characters dealing with the challenges in their own lives and slowly their paths eventually converged. It worked for me because we had a chance to see them in their respective elements, and when the two finally got together, we saw them work together while being out of their elements. It was fascinating to watch because the strong acting perfectly complemented the strong characters but at the same time the material was more than willing to explore the more sensitive sides of the characters, particularly Lisbeth’s history of abuse and violence. Lisbeth’s tortured past was the heart of the film alongside her complex relationship with Mikael. As for the murder mystery, there was nothing particularly new about it but the slow burn of the material mixed with small twists involving varying perspectives made a gripping, edge-of-your-seat product. (At times I caught myself trying to cover my eyes.) There were a handful of haunting images dispersed throughout which somewhat reminded me of the “Saw” franchise if it was more like David Fincher’s “Zodiac”-like procedural than mainstream torture porn. Despite the two-and-a-half-hour running time, each scene had a sense of urgency so when the climax was reached, the revelations made sense instead of the audiences feeling cheated. Yes, the material consisted of scenes involving brutal violence against women but at the same time I thought it empowered women instead of disrespecting them which was reflected by Lisbeth’s creativity, resourcefulness, intelligence and strength. Directed by Niels Arden Oplev and based on Stieg Larsson’s novels, “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” was a fantastic start of the “Millennium” series and exhibited potential to get better because it purposely left chilling loose ends concerning the characters’ histories. It left me wanting more in the best possible way.
