Män som hatar kvinnor (2009)

Director:

Niels Arden Oplev

Writers:

Nikolaj Arcel (screenplay)
Rasmus Heisterberg (screenplay)

Release Date:

27 February 2009 (Denmark)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

Swedish thriller based on Stieg Larsson's novel about a journalist and a young female hacker. |

Plot Keywords:

Hacker | Female Hacker | Journalist | Jail | Handcuffs

Awards:

5 nominations

Cast

Michael Nyqvist	...	Mikael Blomkvist
Noomi Rapace	...	Lisbeth Salander
Lena Endre	...	Erika Berger
Peter Haber	...	Martin Vanger
Sven-Bertil Taube	...	Henrik Vanger
Peter Andersson	...	The Lawyer Nils Bjurman
Ingvar Hirdwall	...	Dirch Frode
Marika Lagercrantz	...	Cecilia Vanger
Björn Granath	...	Gustav Morell
Ewa Fröling	...	Harriet Vanger
Michalis Koutsogiannakis	...	Dragan Armanskij
Annika Hallin	...	Annika Giannini
Sofia Ledarp	...	Malin Erikson
Tomas Köhler	...	'Plague'
David Dencik	...	Janne Dahlman

Also Known As:

Mænd der hader kvinder (Denmark)
Millennium: Part 1 - Men Who Hate Women (International: English title) (series title)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (International: English title)
Verblendung (Germany)

Runtime:

152 min

Country:

Sweden | Denmark | Germany

Language:

Swedish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | France:-12 | Finland:K-15 | Spain:18 | Switzerland:18 (canton of Bern) | Italy:VM14 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | Portugal:M/16 (Qualidade) | UK:15 | Germany:16 | Argentina:16 | Chile:TE

Filming Locations:

Gamla Enskede, Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden

Company:

Danish Filminstitute

Trivia:

Noomi Rapace took motorcycle license as a preparation for the movie.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Martin's car starts rolling, it quickly loses one of its headlights. However, after it loses it, there is one shot of the car rolling with two lights, then one light again.a

Movie Connections:

Followed by Luftslottet som sprängdes (2009)

well crafted, engaging and thought-provoking thriller

I am among, I guess, those very few people in Europe who have not read the best-selling novel by Stieg Larsson, but, not feeling in the mood to see another too emotionally engaging romance or drama, although its being my favourite genre, I went to see what is depicted by Larsson's fans as a captivating and gripping thriller.

Indeed, I can't say whether the movie proves adherence to the novel, which is something by the way difficult, considering the length of the book, however, I can say that the product is a well-crafted piece of cinema, which leaves also interesting food for thought. Used as we are, as southern Europeans, to see at Northern, and mainly Scandinavian countries, as models of democracy, economic progress and social welfare, it's quite surprising to see a modern Sweden stained by corruption and unscrupulous tycoons. Moreover, it is quite upsetting to get to know how Nazi extremist and insane ideas were rooted not so much in the history of the country, but in the conscience of people, in this case of a powerful and wealthy family, where the hatred towards the Jews has mixed with the hatred towards women, turning the lives of whole generations into a hell of ferocious violence and horror.

As far as the thriller story, it's engaging, but carried on very carefully, every aspect being under control, with flashbacks constantly reassuring us about aspects we have already perceived, without moving a little apart from a well consolidated stylistic model of this kind of movie genre. Sometimes a little slow, sometimes too indulging in violent scenes, but with a strong directing consciousness supporting it. Convincing and really good the performances offered by the whole cast, unknown to the great public, but I would underline the actress playing Lisbeth as really outstanding and upsetting in her mental and emotional distress. On the whole, it's not a masterpiece, but a good and well made movie.