I’ll spoil this review in my first sentence: it’s the best film I’ve seen all year. I’d been aware of Larsson’s trilogy of novels, and also aware of the Swedish films, but never read or seen them respectively. In fact, it wasn’t a film that I would have chosen to see, if I hadn’t been invited to go watch it. 

So I went into the cinema having done no ‘preparation’, and I was pretty blown away. Usually, crime/thriller films send me to sleep very swiftly; they all follow the same formula. However, Girl With The Dragon Tattoo doesn’t. Sure, the protagonist (portrayed by Daniel Craig) is a detective-like character investigating the mysterious disappearance of a girl, he hunts around for clues which eventually lead him to the killer, but there’s something about the film that makes it alltogether different from your typical Poirot-esque drama. 

One of the things that stood out most for me was the attention to detail paid to the backgrounds of the main characters; a decent portion of the film is devoted to introducing the lifestyle and personality of both main characters Mikael Blomkvist (Craig) and Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara). It’s refreshing to see the person behind the detective, rather than simply seeing their ‘calculating’ side. 

The quality of acting was also impressive - Craig fits the gritty nature of the film well, but also can show his soft side well (very 007 indeed). Mara also did the same. One of the other things I noticed was the theme of a split personality, not in a schizophrenic way, but in the way that behind a seemingly friendly and conventional exterior there can often lie a darker, more sinister side to a person. 

I recommend you go see this film, even if you haven’t read the book it’s a damn good film. I’m adding the book to my reading list, and it’ll be interesting to see how it compares. 

on IMDB