aka Män som hatar kvinnor

Director: Niels Arden Oplev | Review date: 7-Sept-2009 (updated 18-Feb-2010/20-Mar-2010)

Translated as “Men Who Hate Women” and known as the English title “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,”  Män som hatar kvinnor is a dark and atmospheric Swedish thriller based on the novel by Stieg Larsson about a journalist and his unlikely encounter with a young female hacker. Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) is the journalist who is found guilty of a crime that he did not commit. He’s soon sought by a wealthy elderly man for his expertise in investigating in hopes to find answers to an old missing person case.

A young rebellious hacker named Lisbeth (Noomi Rapace) is a delinquent who works for the security company hired to get information about Mikael. Becoming intrigued, perhaps obsessed to an extent, with Mikael, Lisbeth continues to track him until they eventually meet. The two team up to solve the case only to find themselves caught in a family’s long line of dark and dirty secrets.

The standout character in this film is Lisbeth, who has built quite a hard shell as a result of constantly being abused throughout her life. Noomi Rapace plays this character extraordinarily well, to the point that we feel her pain and experiences. The character of Lisbeth is by far the most fascinating character, be it in a book or movie, that I can recall in quite some time. Her mysterious nature is intriguing, while her tech-savviness is both exciting and relevant in today’s world. Nyqvist is equally impressive as the zealous investigator. The rest of the cast does outstandingly well also, bringing eerie realism to this drama. The heartlessness of the villains portrayed in the film is sure to leave one with an ill feeling.

The picture itself has great direction from Oplev. He really captures a certain feeling of the cold and bleak locale which so hauntingly ads to the film’s mysteriousness. The film can be graphic and unsettling at times during scenes involving violence and sexual assault (which are far from exploitive) but necessarily so to illustrate the pain and suffering endured by our characters. The dark mood is offset by the developing bond between our main characters and their own personal growth. It’s longer runtime goes unnoticed by including plenty of clues combined with nicely executed action that only makes one want more.

The film is a captivating crime thriller that is brilliantly played out and is sure to have viewers feeling all sorts of emotions throughout. I’ve not yet read this or any of the other books from Larsson’s Millenium trilogy, however this film has greatly prompted my interest. The film sheds light on the all too real world of men who hate women, if only there were more people like Mikael and Lisbeth to bring them to justice. On a side note, as I’ve mentioned in my rant regarding English-language remakes, this film is in talks to be given an American remake in the near future. While if done right the remake could be good, it’s highly advisable to check out this beautiful Swedish masterpiece in its original form.

Rating: Perfect Rating
IMDb/trailer/clips

US DVD coming soon!

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