A Mystery Behind the Dragon
By Chris Carpenter
Prior to meeting Lisbeth Salander, the talented computer hacker at the center of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (scheduled to open March 12 in Orange County and Los Angeles), a man is warned: “Lisbeth is a pretty odd girl.” Glum, leather-clad, and sporting multiple piercings — in addition to the skin art of the title — Lisbeth quickly proves herself not only a startling sight but a force to be reckoned with.
This bracing film is based on the novel by the late Swedish author Stieg Larsson. Unpublished at the time of his death in 2004, the book is the first in what is referred to as Larsson’s “Millennium” series. The first two books (the second is The Girl Who Played with Fire) have become international bestsellers. The third, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest, is scheduled for nationwide release later this spring.
To date, more than 8 million copies of the series have sold worldwide. The film version is the highest-grossing Swedish film in history, and won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at this year’s Palm Springs International Film Festival.
Lisbeth is the heart of the series, but she isn’t the typical literary or cinematic heroine. Despite being on probation and under a court-ordered conservator’s care following a crime she committed as a child, Lisbeth is an avenging angel who has zero tolerance for bullies, misogynists and unethical businesspeople. She faces all three, as well as murderous Nazi sympathizers, in this initial mystery-thriller adapted from Larsson’s works.
What’s more, Lisbeth is unapologetically bisexual. She is physically strong but emotionally fragile, and she’s undeniably sexy. The character’s intellectual and moral superiority make her more attractive, and Noomi Rapace’s portrayal of Lisbeth fully conveys the heroine’s complexity.
Lisbeth comes to the aid of a financial journalist cum crusader Mikael Blomqvist (Michael Nyqvist). Mikael becomes a pariah in the wake of a fraud trial involving a powerful banker. Not only does the tycoon get off, but he slaps Mikael with a libel suit. Suspended by the publication he writes for, Millennium, Mikael must find a way to clear his name.
He receives significant assistance from Lisbeth, who is herself locked in a battle of wills with her vile new caretaker. At first, Lisbeth keeps her identity a secret from Mikael. However, the good journalist soon tracks Lisbeth down and discovers her in bed…with a woman.
Despite this, Lisbeth and Mikael become sexually involved. Lisbeth refuses to be stereotyped or categorized by her desires, at one point telling Mikael , “You choose who you want to be.”
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo weaves a dark, complex tale, with enough sexual and physical violence in it that occasionally may cause viewers to avert their eyes.
However, it is an engrossing, extremely well-made movie thanks chiefly to the lead performances, Niels Arden Oplev’s direction, Eric Kress’s cinematography and the adapted screenplay by Rasmus Heisterberg and Nikolaj Arcel.
Larsson was reportedly concerned about anti-democratic, anti-LGBT, right-wing extremism — as well as with efforts to keep women regarded as inferior to men — and the Millennium series is proving to be the embodiment of his extensive knowledge and work against neo-Nazism and anti-feminism. His creation of Lisbeth Salander is continuing his pursuit for an end to all forms of oppression.